


Failed Step One (And Two (And Three))

by Word_Devourer



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (Though not on the slowest end of slow burns), Also including Kagami having a mental breakdown, Before anyone else actually..., But for the good of the tags I will use the common one, But still completely oblivious to what's actually going on, Centrally using a flashback scene from Animaestro, Considering the time-span and the number of chapters I think we can classify this as, Dancing with Emotional Tension, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Even though lovers may be too strong a word, F/F, Featuring Adrien not being entirely blind, He'll get there though, I feel I should tag this..., I learned bits of fencing for this, New Year's (Almost) Kiss, New Year's Eve, Now featuring enough content of Nino Marinette and Alya hanging out to tag them as characters, Now with snarky letters, Oh who am I kidding it's necessary, Rivals to Lovers, Slow Burn, Unnecessarily self-indulgent, one or the other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2020-11-22 03:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 64,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20867708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Word_Devourer/pseuds/Word_Devourer
Summary: 'Don't ever touch me again.Don't ever speak to me again.Don't ever look at me again.'The problem with giving Chloe directions is that she often refuses to follow them simply out of spite.The problem with asking Kagami what's going on is that she's a naturally private person, who doesn't like sharing the details of people disrespecting her.The problem with being Adrien is that it's way too easy to misinterpret what's going on, and try to set up two people who hate each other.





	1. Step 3

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey, look, it's a fic that's not Lovesquare.  
But, with any luck, it'll still feature some of the same shenanigans that make it so popular.  
(No, seriously, the portion of the document I'm writing this that's dedicated to the plot has the heading 'Zany Shenanigans')

At the time, she’d just backed away silently, unable to muster up a proper response to the commands.

In fact, at the time, she’d almost completely failed to register it, on the simple basis that it didn’t make sense in her head.

Nobody told her what to do.

Well… Of course, a clever debater could have brought up that she tended to do what she was pretty sure her mother _wanted_ her to do, which in some regards…

She was getting off topic.

The point was, she prided herself on listening to nobody but herself, to the point that she was the _only person in Paris_ to ever have turned down Akumatization _after_ the butterfly had landed on her.

_Take that, Hawkmoth._

And, of course, the other thing she prided herself on was being in control of whatever situation she was placed in.

She was, after all, the _queen._

And, the problem was, _both_ of those self-assertions had done her absolutely no good.

Not only had Kagami _not_ listened to her, she’d… She’d completely ignored it, and then given _Chloe_ orders…

_“Don’t ever touch me again. Don’t ever speak to me again. Don’t ever _look_ at me again.”_

_And she’d followed them, which was…_ Utterly ridiculous, to say the least, because of the two of them, Kagami had been the one getting in _her _way. Between the two of them, she was the one who’d known Adrien the longest, so if _anyone_ should get priority to sit next to him…

Chloe’s expression curled into one of disgusted anger.

And then, it froze, as her mind rewound.

‘Don’t… _ever_.’

Ever.

The word played again in her head.

She _hadn’t_ listened to Kagami.

Not yet.

She would only have listened to her if she listened to every one of those commands for the rest of her life, which mean, if she _broke_ every command on that list, she’d have definitively proven to Kagami that _Chloe,_ and _nobody else,_ was the queen.

Yes…

Yes, Kagami would see soon enough.

\--

Adrien didn’t get much in the way of free time.

School, sleeping and eating, all of which he wouldn’t exactly consider _free_ since they were basic necessities, obviously ate a significant portion of it, but he could hardly complain about _those;_ after all, all of his classmates faced the same issues.

_Not_ all of his classmates, meanwhile, had modeling, which was another few hours a week. Nor did most of them have private tutors, which basically meant _more_ school. That was before he considered his primary extracurricular, which was to say, _fencing,_ which added _another_ few hours.

And then…

Stack on being a _superhero,_ which was… Probably a full-time job.

It _should_ have been a full-time job, anyway.

The point was, he had long since arrived at a point where he’d started calling things ‘free time,’ that really wouldn’t have been if he’d had another choice.

Which was to say that one-on-one fencing with Kagami classified, at this point.

After all, he liked Kagami, and spending time with her obviously meant he was spending time with a friend, which was a _classic_ free-time thing.

Where had he been going with this?

Oh, right.

He’d been going out to spar with Kagami.

Obviously.

This being one of the days where it was supposed to be just the two of them, he’d be heading to her house, since her family had better facilities than the school _anyway._

\--

He’d had to hurry to get out of the locker room so he didn’t keep her waiting too long; he didn’t know how she did it, but Kagami was _always_ ready to leave before him, no matter how fast he went, no matter whether he’d gotten out of class early.

And, sure enough…

“Hello, Adrien,” she said, pleasantly enough, as he was consolidating the last of his supplies into his bag.

“Hey Kagami,” he said, smiling. “Let me guess; you’re ready to go.”

“Of course,” she said, “I always am.”

That… That _had_ been the joke.

Oh well.

“Did you see the coverage on yesterday’s attack?”

Adrien sighed, trying to brute-force a folder back into place. “Yeah… Some of it.”

Technically it was a lie; he _had_, however, gotten up close and personal with Slamborghini, which presumably added up to about the same.

“It was just a normal one, right?” he said.

At her silence, he looked up. She was giving him a questioning look.

“I mean… Just… _just_ an attack. Nothing to make it stand out?”

She shook her head.

“Nothing interesting, though there is a short clip of Chat Noir getting run over that seems to amuse some people.”

Yeah… That one was probably going in a compilation video. He still had the bruise on his chest, and his back still ached from where he’d bounced off a wall like a pinball.

“Well…” said Adrien, standing up, slinging his bag over his shoulder, “at least he can take it, right?”

“I don’t see why they find it funny in the first place,” she said, shrugging, as they turned to the door.

“I think it’s because he’s a superhero, but he keeps getting hit.”

“Hm,” she grunted, “getting hit doesn’t seem like a surprise, superhero or…”

Adrien looked over, surprised to hear her falter, and…

Kagami was staring, stone-faced, at-

Chloe was looking back at her, as Adrien turned, her expression… Not angry, but not friendly, either… Resolute? Brazen? Defiant?

Adrien wasn’t an expert in what figuring out what was behind faces, and right now he wished he was.

They passed Chloe, and were out the door.

As it shut behind them, he looked back, a bit unnerved.

“Not,” said Kagami.

“What?”

“Superhero or not,” finished Kagami, as if there had been no interruption.

“I—” Adrien mentally caught up. “Right. I suppose not—What was that about?”

Kagami looked at him, expression impassive.

“Nothing important. Don’t worry about it.”

Ordinarily, he’d have suggested that if it wasn’t important, there would be nothing wrong with satisfying his curiosity, but…

This seemed like the kind of ‘not important,’ that was… The _private_ kind of not important.

\--

It was later that night, and Adrien was trying to sleep, but…

_‘Don’t worry about it,’_ she’d said, but…

Well. He _wasn’t_ worrying about it, was he? He was just… _thinking _about it. That was a totally different thing. It wasn’t like he was afraid that something was wrong, he was just idly considering…

Yeah, there was no way to spin this that wouldn’t sound like he was making excuses.

But…

What it came down to was that Kagami _clearly_ knew what it had been about, and, obviously, so did Chloe.

Chloe hadn’t been angry, and if Kagami had been, then she was hiding it well.

So… Chloe had been communicating something?

Reminding Kagami of something?

But… What would she have been reminding her about that she couldn’t just say it out loud?

Adrien’s mind jumped immediately to some kind of blackmail, a sign that he’d read altogether too many comics, and…

That didn’t sound right, though, for either of them.

How would you even blackmail Kagami? How would Chloe have gotten something that could?

No. It was something else.

He just didn’t know what.

\--

By chance, Adrien’s bedtime had coincided with Chloe’s own, and she…

Frankly, she wasn’t satisfied.

She’d been ready to march straight up to Kagami, and make no bones about who _exactly _she answered to, and then…

Well, and then, _Adrien_ had been there.

That was what she was blaming, anyway, because the alternative…

Chloe would at _no point_ admit that she’d felt nervous at the idea, because that would mean that Kagami unnerved her, which…

Which didn’t bear thinking about.

She’d just have to do better tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen more of this ship around, because it feels like they'd get on like a house on fire.  
Unfortunately, there may be no survivors.


	2. Step 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, despite his best attempts, can't stop himself from investigating the mysterious interaction he's seen between Chloe and Kagami.  
He finds new evidence, but still lacks the information to put it together.
> 
> Kagami tries not to give Chloe the satisfaction of response, no matter how satisfying it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the chapter where Chloe attempts to do better tomorrow.

Adrien was distracted in class.

Of course, it wasn’t like anything especially _crazy_ had happened; he fought supervillains on a semi-regular basis, Chloe acting strange was nothing that should have bothered him.

But it caught in his brain.

Chloe was acting weird; Kagami knew why.

Except Kagami didn’t want to talk about it, because…

Because why?

They _were_ supposed to be friends, right? Or… At _least_ friends… Adrien sighed.

He was pretty sure that Kagami knew how he felt about Ladybug, by now, even if she hadn’t said anything, and he wasn’t sure if the fact that she didn’t say anything about it was cause for relief or worry.

Oh, but he was getting distracted.

…

Maybe he was _supposed_ to be getting distracted.

He restrained a grimace, remembering that Kagami hadn’t wanted to talk about it.

And yet, here he was, waiting for lunch so he could watch Chloe go… Something? Maybe she wouldn’t do anything. Maybe she’d just walk away, and get lunch somewhere else, like she usually did. That would certainly make things simpler.

Adrien would be able to just walk away from the whole thing, maybe pretend nothing had happened, and, in a few days, he’d probably just forget about it.

That might be nice.

And… Maybe the fact that Chloe seemed to be fidgeting more than usual in his peripheral vision was pure chance.

Yeah…

Maybe.

Class was almost done, but, but the last few minutes seemed to stretch out in front of him.

He hadn’t asked Plagg, but he was pretty sure the response would just have been a disinterested shrug; Plagg, after all, had been around humans for thousands of years, and hadn’t cared about the vast majority of them. Even if he _had_ seen anything that would have made for salient advice, Adrien doubted he’d remember it at all, let alone be able to recall it on the spot.

Which meant Adrien was on his own for this one, dealing with a situation that he was _apparently_ missing some key piece of information to solve.

The problem was, how could he solve a situation where he wasn’t supposed to be investigating, when he didn’t even know what he was looking for?

He rubbed a hand across his face.

Okay…

He’d seen them together a few days ago, right?

He’d… He’d been at some fancy event that he’d _already_ forgotten. Kagami had been there, and…

Chloe had said something to her, hadn’t she?

It was only a vague recollection, but he’d looked over, to the sight of Kagami right up close to Chloe’s face, and then…

Chloe had backed away, seemingly… Embarrassed?

He glanced up at the clock again.

Not long left, now.

Chloe didn’t like being embarrassed, of course, but that didn’t answer the question of why she’d been there in the first place. What had she wanted with Kagami?

It felt like he’d found something important, but he _didn’t know what it was._

The bell rang, and the air in the room seemed to loosen, as people started packing up.

To Adrien’s mild surprise, Chloe was already almost to the door by the time he had his books away, and he barely managed a quick ‘I’ll be outside,’ to Nino before slipping away, and after her.

“Okay, dude?” said Nino, and then… shrugged, going back to his supplies.

He managed to keep his pace steady and even, but his eyes snapped almost instantly to Chloe, walking down the stairs with an almost… nervous gait?

Adrien didn’t really know what it looked like to walk nervously, and maybe he was coming up with something that didn’t exist, but… If he was looking for it, he could imagine it.

For the hundredth time, he was struck by the idea that this probably counted as ‘worrying,’ which was the exact thing Kagami had asked him to do, but…

Maybe it was the cat thing.

He just hoped this didn’t end with him _dead._

_…_

Metaphorically speaking. He didn’t see any way that curiosity would _actually_ result in his _actual_ death.

\--

Kagami wasn’t dumb. Far from it, really.

She knew that Chloe was widely considered a menace, and that the closest she came to _actual_ respect was her hero-worship of Ladybug, which Ladybug herself had little liking for.

That in mind, Kagami should have expected from the start that telling her to not even look at her would never work, but… Well, suffice to say that seeing Chloe back away at all had given her more hope than it should have.

Well… She knew it now.

Now, _logically, _what she should probably do was let Chloe get it out of her system, which surely wouldn’t take too long, and then move on. If she didn’t react, then Chloe would probably just forget about her fairly quickly.

The only problem with ‘logically,’ here, was that Chloe was a little brat with no respect, which was the perfect combination of traits to make her _angry._

_“Kagami.”_

She stopped short, and narrowly managed to restrain herself from turning around.

_“It’s rude not to look at someone when they’re talking to you.”_

Kagami could _easily_ have mustered a few choice words about what was _rude,_ and, more to the point, _who_ was rude, but… No.

Let Chloe grab for attention as much as she wanted; Kagami had no intention of giving it to her.

She started walking again, still only narrowly resisting the urge to look back, either to see the look on Chloe’s face, or to make sure that she wasn’t about to be attacked.

And, step by step, she walked away.

\--

Adrien stepped away from the balcony, and almost ran into Nino.

“You alright, dude?”

He blinked, mentally readjusting to his circumstances.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You kinda bolted.”

“I… Yeah. Sorry, I had an idea. Wanted to see if I was right.”

“And?”

“I think I was,” he said, “which might mean that I know a bit more than I should.”

“Uh _huh_,” said Nino, “something personal?”

“Uh… Maybe? I think so.”

Nino shrugged.

“Okay, dude. You gotta head home for lunch today?”

Adrien blinked, and then sighed, slumping slightly.

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Well, see you for next class, yeah?”

“Mhm.”

And he started walking away.

…

_So…_

_What?_

_Kagami was unwilling to talk to Chloe._

_And Chloe was dead set on making a conversation happen._

Adrien…

He didn’t know why.

All he _knew_ was…

Nothing.

He knew basically nothing.

Which, still, was somehow more than he knew before.

Funny how that worked.

\--

Kagami was silent as she drove away.

Or… Well… _She_ wasn’t driving, but…

And also, she didn’t _usually_ talk while she was being driven, but…

Her expression, usually steady and calm, had the barest trace of a frown, right now.

Because…

Well, because she was winning, which was to say, she wasn’t giving Chloe what she wanted. She’d walked away without a word.

So why didn’t it feel like it?

She _knew_ why.

It would have been so easy to turn around and strike back, and the very thought of it brought her a tantalizing taste of satisfaction, in a way that made it all the more painful that she hadn’t.

Kagami’s finger tapped with a slow, measured rate, at the hard plastic of the car’s door, the only outward sign of her careful restraint.

_Thankfully her mother wasn’t here. She’d have noticed, and Kagami wasn’t sure she wanted to explain the situation._

She took a breath, and it didn’t shake.

She wasn’t about to give in that easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Careful, Kagami, if you're not careful, you'll engage with your enemy, and if you get engaged with Chloe-  
Ah, no, wait, that sounds like something else.
> 
> Uh...
> 
> Maybe...  
Don't open your mouth, because if you do, you'll end up settling this face to face, and-  
Probably not that either.
> 
> Don't let Chloe drive you wild, or-  
These are just getting worse.
> 
> Just... Be careful?  
Yeah. Can't go wrong with a simple 'be careful.'


	3. Step 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe finally gets around to the final step of her plans.
> 
> Adrien finally figures out what's going on.*
> 
> Kagami is carefully restraining herself, and being largely successful about it.
> 
> *(For a limited value of 'figures out.')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We find ourselves back with Adrien, still wondering about this strange situation. Well... He'll get some enlightenment by the end of the chapter, and then we'll be out of the setup and can get ourselves moving.

After lunch had finished, Adrien found his mind inexorably drawn back to what had happened.

Whatever Chloe had said, it hadn’t been loud, and _certainly_ not loud enough for him to hear it.

But Kagami had heard it, and it had made her stop.

And then, whatever had happened, she’d just walked away.

An insult? 

The thoughts percolated through his head as the hours dragged passed

Maybe not an insult.

After all, whatever it was, Chloe had apparently been thinking about it yesterday, right?

That couldn’t be an individual insult.

A feud?

But then, how would he have missed something that could cause a grudge like that? Surely…

Surely, he’d have seen it?

Although… Chloe didn’t need much to get angry, and Kagami, however angry she was, would probably keep it restrained.

But… The look on Chloe’s face, as she’d backed away from Kagami… That hadn’t been anger.

That had been… confusion? Embarrassment?

He’d thought it before, and it hadn’t sounded right even then.

When did Chloe _ever_ get embarrassed?

He wracked his brain, as the school-day slowly wound down.

Kagami was intimidating, of course, which meant that if there was someone who could throw Chloe for a loop, it _was_ her, but then… Why?

Why had Chloe talked to her in the first place?

He was certain that he was missing _something, _but he didn’t know for the life of him _what._

As he packed up for the day, he was finally starting to resign himself to the possibility that he would never find out what was going on.

Nino, seeming to grasp that Adrien’s silence was due to something he couldn’t really talk about, quietly left, going off to chat with Marinette and Alya, leaving Adrien…

He took longer than usual to pack up. The was no sparring session with Kagami today, and he was in no hurry to get home any quicker; and minute he could cut out of the next thing on his schedule, _whatever_ it was, he was glad to take it.

By the time he was finished, most of the people in the locker room had either gone home, or gone to whatever extracurricular they had stuck around for.

For _him,_ that meant…

Well, it meant he had about 2 minutes before he got a text asking where he was.

He pushed the door open, and…

He stopped short, as he saw Chloe by the exit.

That… That was interesting.

She was standing there, back to the wall, arms crossed.

Adrien carefully adjusted his angle, taking in a wider angle of the room, and—

_Someone_ wanted to see his curiosity rewarded, apparently, because even as he looked, he saw Kagami, stonefaced, making for the door.

He glanced back at Chloe, and she pushed away from the wall, standing up straight.

Without even the presence of mind to curse his own curiosity, Adrien pushed forward, until he was almost out of the locker room.

Chloe stepped to the side, and Adrien almost gasped as the palm of her hand went almost instantly to Kagami’s shoulder.

_“You can’t ignore this forever,” _said Chloe, and even at this distance, Adrien caught something burning in her eyes.

He leaned forward, and almost thought he’d missed Kagami’s response.

_“I can ignore anything, if it does me no good to focus on it. Now. Get out of my way.”_

And then, without waiting for Chloe to move, she stepped directly past, and walked out the door.

Adrien stared after her, even as Chloe turned to do the same, and even before she turned back, his mind was buzzing.

_Can’t ignore what? What did Kagami not want to focus on?_

And then Chloe _did_ turn back, and caught sight of Adrien.

\--

Internally, Chloe swore, unable to stop her face going red at Adrien presumably having seen Kagami brush her off with barely an effort.

_She’d done what she meant to do, so why did it feel like Kagami was still winning?_

It didn’t occur to her that Adrien probably didn’t want her and Kagami fighting, but it _did_ occur to her that nobody wanted a friend who couldn’t scare off an ice queen or two, which meant that Adrien had caught her at kind of a bad moment.

She stepped back, back, and out the door, the better to regroup, and only talk to him later after she’d _really_ shown Kagami what for.

_“Chloe!”_ called Adrien, from behind her, and her face twisted in pained annoyance.

She _could_ just keep walking, but…

She stopped, and turned.

_“Chloe,”_ repeated Adrien, now properly in front of her.

“_Yes?”_ she said, hoping that a trace of annoyance would force him to take the hint that she didn’t want to talk about this.

But this was Adrien. Subtlety wasn’t his strong suit.

_“What’s going on with you and Kagami?”_

He was… Concerned.

Of course he was; he had no reason to believe Chloe could handle her, and after what had just happened… It didn’t matter. She didn’t have a choice. She had to fight on.

“I don’t have a choice,” she said, and she meant it. “I have to touch her! I have to talk to her! I have to look at her!”

\--

The cogs in Adrien’s head clicked, and… locked.

“Oh,” he said. “I… I see… I’m… Sorry,” he said.

She scoffed.

“Don’t be. I don’t give up that easily. Just _watch.”_

And, so saying, she walked away, leaving Adrien to stare after her.

He remembered, suddenly, that there was a car waiting for him, only a few steps away.

He got in.

…

Seconds passed.

His mind churned through what he’d just learned, which, surreal though it was, he couldn’t deny made sense in context.

Chloe trying to talk to Kagami, and leaving embarrassed; that made sense.

Chloe staring at Kagami with unnatural intensity, and Kagami not wanting to talk about it; both made sense.

Kagami refusing to respond to Chloe, or even look at her; sad though it was, _that_ made sense.

_It all made sense._

_Chloe was in love with Kagami, and Kagami wasn’t having it._

And, if Adrien was reading this right, something _had_ happened that had given Chloe the impression that Kagami might feel the same about her, but when she’d come to talk, Kagami had refused to think about it.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head.

It was so rare for Chloe to actually decide that she _liked_ someone, which, honestly, made it kind of sad that on this rare occasion, she’d aimed her feelings at someone like Kagami, who was _also_ slow to befriend people.

Slow, but…

Adrien straightened up.

Then again…

If it was a matter of _slow,_ then… Maybe all he needed to do was put them in the same place for a while! Obviously, he couldn’t _force_ them to get along (not that he needed to force Chloe) but in a weird way, they were a lot alike! Maybe, if they spent long enough together to realize _that_…

Well, he didn’t know if Kagami even _liked_ girls, but maybe they’d at least end up friends! If nothing else, they could both use an extra friend, right?

\--

Kagami was shaking.

It wasn’t… _Anger,_ per se, and it wasn’t fear, and it wasn’t…

She didn’t know _what_ it was.

It _felt_ like some combination of the two.

She _was_ angry, certainly; practically _furious; _Chloe had… _literally_ laid hands on her. Nobody could have blamed her if she’d returned the favor, fighting back in some way…

And, fear… Well, it wasn’t fear of Chloe. More, it was the unnerving sensation of the anger trying to claw its way out.

And… The unnerving sensation of how much she wanted to see Chloe’s expression twist in distaste like it had when she’d told her to back away.

Kagami didn’t consider herself vengeful by nature.

Really, it seemed more like… Chloe was just… really… _revengeable?_

Of course… Technically… Since what Chloe was after was _attention,_ that would mean that the best revenge was to ignore her…

She just needed to keep reminding herself of that.

Everything would be fine.

She’d just… _ignore her._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Chloe has officially failed all three steps! I guess that's the end of the story then...
> 
> Or... Y'know... Not.
> 
> Also, I firmly believe that Kagami is entirely capable of ignoring her. Obviously. Of course. And there will be no external prompting to make it more difficult.


	4. It's a date (depending who you ask)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien plies his trade a smooth operator, ably sounding out Kagami's true feelings about Chloe, and neatly maneuvering into the role of matchmaker.
> 
> Which is to say, he completely misreads the situation, and effectively schedules a fight between two of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do more perspective swaps this chapter, but you know what? I think it came out fine all the same.

“It’s kind of weird,” said Adrien, scoring his third consecutive strike on Kagami, “usually _I’m_ the one who’s distracted.”

He couldn’t see her face, but the slight hesitation before she launched her next attack as good as told him that she’d heard him.

Two counters, almost in unison, and she managed to get him back.

They reset.

“Is this about Chloe?”

The strike came through too early, and too hard. It was the motion of someone who’d been surprised and acting without thinking.

He barely defended from it, but she’d fallen out of position, meaning-

“It is, then,” he said, pulling back from his successful counter.

There was a moment of silence.

“Yes,” she said, finally.

“Anything in particular?” he asked, as the next round began.

She didn’t answer.

One round.

Two rounds.

Three…

He’d almost given up waiting for a response, when-

“I was… _idly_ considering whether she even knew how to fence.”

\--

“Oh,” said Adrien. “Well… I don’t think so, but I could ask her, if you want.”

“No,” she said, and now Adrien was as distracted as she was, which meant two easy successes.

“Why not?”

“What would it matter either way?”

“I… Well… I mean, if you’re curious, wouldn’t it be nice to know?”

Kagami didn’t respond.

“And… Maybe… If she did know… You could go a few rounds against her. Even if she didn’t, honestly.”

Kagami blinked, at that.

Adrien, apparently having found out the details of the situation, was… _suggesting she fight Chloe?_

That didn’t sound right, somehow.

And yet…

“I’m… Surprised to hear you suggesting that,” she said, diplomatically. It came out easier than ‘I thought you were friends with Chloe, and I was almost certain you weren’t the vengeful type.’

“I… I don’t know,” said Adrien, “I just thought you might get something out of it.”

He _was._ Adrien Agreste was _actively_ suggesting she get back at Chloe by rigorously defeating her.

But… But… She…

“Nothing I _want_ to get,” she said, managing to recover herself enough to overcome Adrien’s frankly _pitiful_ defense.

“Why not?”

She didn’t know how to explain this to Adrien, considering that she hadn’t expected him to be advocating it in the first place.

After a second, she settled on the simplest explanation to hand.

It was… an oversimplification, if she was honest; most people didn’t even get close enough to her to _consider_ giving her trouble. But… On the rare occasions that they had… She’d always walked away from it the victor, by sheer dint of not giving the aggressor what they wanted. Chloe was just… A worse version of that.

“I have no intentions of giving in to an impulse I’ve been fighting for years.”

Adrien practically _stopped, _midway through a parry.

Kagami landed her strike, and stepped back.

She couldn’t see his face, but Adrien looked away, and then… after a long second, he looked back at her.

“Kagami,” he said, and his voice was strangely soft, “there’s nothing wrong with what you’re feeling.”

She didn’t move, for a long, long moment.

“I can’t force you to do something you don’t want to,” he said, “but… Maybe it’s worth asking yourself what _you_ want sometimes.”

What _she_ wanted? What… What she _wanted_ was to let Chloe starve for attention until she was forced to give up…

Or…

No.

That’s what she _wanted_ to want.

But-

“Isn’t she your friend?” she said.

Adrien sighed. “Kagami… Honestly? I’m not sure I’d even be suggesting this if she wasn’t. I think this… _might_ be good for both you _and_ Chloe, and, whatever happens, we’ll still be friends at the end of it.”

The piece clicked into place.

Adrien, of course, knew how abrasive Chloe could be; he’d had every _chance_ to see it. What was it to be friends with someone if not to want them to be the best that they _could_ be?

Did Adrien really think she could teach Chloe humility?

For that matter, did he really think that _she_ would get some kind of lasting satisfaction from doing it?

Well… She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to.

A long, _long_ second passed, as she mentally staggered, uncertain which side of this she was _supposed_ to be on.

She was supposed to rise above this kind of thing, but… Then again… Maybe she _could_ beat Chloe into submission, and at the end of it…

“One day,” she said.

His head tilted.

“I’ll only guarantee one day,” she repeated. “Ask her if she knows how to fence.”

She didn’t need to see his face to see him perk up.

He nodded.

“Now,” she said. “We’ve gotten distracted.”

She’d see if she couldn’t teach Chloe a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

\--

Chloe already had her phone in her hand by the time she realized it had buzzed.

She looked down at message, and, specifically, the sender.

_Adrien._

Probably here to ask her to stop asserting herself against Kagami.

Honestly, Adrien would just be friends with _anyone._ It was downright sad.

She grumbled, and pulled up the message.

**

_AA: Do you know how to fence?_

She blinked. That… That hadn’t been what she’d been expecting.

**CB: Of course not.**

**CB: Why would I?**

_AA: Well_

There was a long second of typing, as Adrien seemed to choose his words carefully.

_AA: Kagami seems interested in fencing with you._

She stared at the message.

**CB: What**

_AA: I figured you didn’t know_

_AA: But also it doesn’t hurt to ask._

**CB: And she didn’t ask this directly because**

_AA: well_

_AA: a bit because it was kind of my idea_

**CB: it was what**

_AA: I know that’s not ideal_

_AA: but on the upside this is still another chance!_

**

She stared at the screen, feeling her brain trying to turn inside out at the sentence that absolutely couldn’t be there…

She didn’t know how to fence. Adrien _knew_ that she didn’t know how to fence.

How was she supposed to beat Kagami at something that Kagami actually knew how to do?

Not… Not to say that Chloe wouldn’t be _great_ at fencing; she would be. But… However great she was…

She was _extremely_ glad nobody was listening to her thoughts

Kagami was supposed to be… really good at fencing.

Was Adrien really that confident in her?

And, the worst part, of course, was that now of all times, she couldn’t back down against Kagami.

She was trapped.

And Adrien…

Adrien…

She opened her eyes.

Actually.

He might be onto something here.

What did _everyone_ know Kagami for?

_Fencing._

And, that in mind, the greatest way to completely show her up… Would be to get better than her at it.

Anyone could win by attacking their opponent’s weakness.

Adrien, though…

She wouldn’t have expected him to come up with it, but it looked like he’d realized that to _truly_ show superiority, you won by attacking your opponent’s strength.

She looked back down at her phone.

**

**CB: I’ll take it.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is currently the embodiment of that 'he's a little confused, but he's got the spirit' meme.


	5. Turned to Ash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe faces Kagami on her home turf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get it? Because, like... Kagami's got the whole dragon association thing, and, like, western dragons are known for breathing fire, and like...
> 
> Listen, I needed a chapter title.

Of all the things she’d expected to be time consuming, finding a way to carry the gear that didn’t look _stupid_ hadn’t been one of them, but, no, it turned out that it was tricky to keep a full kit of fencing attire in a bag small enough to strut while you wore it.

She _needed_ to strut, too; she needed every psychological advantage she could get, because even with the fact that she’d spent nearly an hour practicing beforehand, she still wasn’t sure if Adrien’s plan was really… The smartest?

And yet, she’d agreed to it, and she couldn’t back down.

Kagami lived in… admittedly, a respectably sized house. Most people would have called it large, though Chloe was not most people.

She didn’t know what _exact_ function the man who greeted her served, but he seemed to be… A butler? Maybe an assistant, like Nathalie was in Adrien’s house.

She decided against asking him; better not to admit any ignorance.

He led her through a set of long hallways, which, strangely, didn’t have anyone else passing through them; the house was larger than Adrien’s but all the quieter for it.

Eventually, they came to a large, empty room.

“The changing rooms are right over there,” said the man, gesturing lightly at a door in the wall. “Miss Kagami is always punctual.”

And then… He left.

Chloe was alone, in enemy territory.

Great.

With nowhere else to go except roaming unsupervised around the house, walked through the door.

As was common with changing rooms, there was a jog in the hallway, and then-

The first thing her eye caught on was the flash of red fabric over the door to one of the rooms three stalls.

Her eyes resolved it into a red skirt, with a red tie next to it, and after a second, the cream blazer and black shirt pieced their way into her vision.

Chloe almost stopped breathing for a second, as one might upon realizing that they’d walked into a room with a sleeping dragon.

She wasn’t ready _just_ yet to wake her.

Also, she was _really_ starting to curse Adrien for getting her into this mess.

With a step that was slightly lighter than she’d expected to need, Chloe pushed through the room, which, as she had time to focus on it a bit longer, she realized was a locker room, as well as a changing room, much like the one at school.

Then, she was past the door to the stall, and started getting dressed.

She had, of course, packed a set of athletic clothes to wear under the gear; after all, she’d have to walk out of here after this match, and no matter what, she did _not_ want to get clothes wrinkled in the process.

Wrinkled clothes were a victory for Kagami.

\--

She wasn’t surprised that Chloe had shown up; she did, after all, seem pathologically incapable of resisting a challenge to her supposed ‘supremacy.’

Kagami finished getting dressed, and without a word, placed her clothes in the locker that was always reserved for her, and left the room.

And then she was back, standing in the room that, besides her classroom and her bedroom, she spent the most time in on a daily basis.

She began stretching out, warming up for what she expected would be a landslide victory; better to be overprepared than underprepared, certainly.

She heard Chloe come out, but resolutely remained faced away.

One minute dragged by, and then two, as she ran through every step, every strike, every counter that she knew, less in the hopes of making them better for the fight, and more to make sure that they were all fresh in her mind.

Had it been Adrien she was fighting… But it wasn’t.

Finally, after what felt like an interminable wait, she managed to engineer something in her warm-up that gave her a reason to turn around.

Chloe, for it _had_ to be Chloe, (the suit was in her signature colors, and _nobody else_ would have done that) had a leg up on one of the benches in the room, and had stretched her whole body forward, so that her back was practically aligned with her leg.

Kagami… Honestly, she wouldn’t have considered Chloe as the sort to _actually_ have any physical skills, but that level of flexibility didn’t seem like the sort of thing that came without effort.

Thankfully, at the instant she’d looked, Chloe hadn’t been looking back at her, so the momentary hesitation wasn’t visible as she returned to her warm-ups.

Give it… Another minute, say. That should be long enough that Chloe couldn’t accuse her of rushing her, and then…

Kagami would have been lying if she said that her heart didn’t speed up, slightly, as she kept running through her steps.

Despite Adrien’s assurances, she still wasn’t quite able to quash the feeling that she was doing something wrong.

Except, now, she couldn’t tell Chloe to _leave._

Well… She could, but what was her plan for after that? And, more to the point, the fact that she’d just sent away a visitor _would_ get back to her mother, which meant that she’d be forced to explain why Chloe had been here in the first place, and either be forced to explain, or leave her mother to draw her own conclusions.

Yeah.

That would be _great._

Kagami withdrew her phone, and, with a practiced motion, pulled her glove away enough to start the timer. She took a soft, silent breath, and took the center of the floor.

Then, she turned, silently, to face Chloe.

This time, Chloe was watching, and Kagami was in her element.

She could see the clench of her hand around her foil, and the too-careful way she stepped forward.

She was nervous, and uncomfortable with her weapon, but trying to hide it.

Flexible or not, she’d never fenced before, if Adrien’s information was correct.

Chloe took a position, a fair distance away.

Now…

Kagami steadied herself, and brought herself to the ready position.

Chloe went still.

The silence stretched out, and…

Despite her best interests, behind the mask, Kagami couldn’t keep a smile from creeping onto her face.

Chloe didn’t know where to start.

She was looking, for the first time, at someone who actually knew how to fence, and the point aimed neatly towards her, and the distance between them suddenly seemed insurmountable.

Kagami hadn’t known that feeling in years, but she still remembered it.

It always felt like your opponent was far closer to you than you were to them.

_What now, Chloe?_

_Give up? Stand there forever?_

_Or… Push forward, and find out _exactly_ how far apart they were?_

_Or, would she offer some excuse?_

Another long second passed.

Chloe lunged forward.

\--

Kagami practically brushed aside the stab, and in an instanbt, Chloe felt the sensation of a point in her stomach.

She’d barely even seen a blur.

She pulled away again.

The same distance stretched out between them, as it had before.

Right…

Okay.

She hadn’t expected this to be easy.

If she wanted to win, her only chance was to rely on her number of attempts to give her some opening, so…

_Again._

_\--_

Minutes passed, and Kagami had to admit, Chloe was, admittedly, pushing through her initial uncertainty, with a frankly surprising degree of success.

Success, at least, in that she was _repeatedly_ throwing weak assaults at Kagami, with no actual effect.

She’d apparently realized that she was far too slow to keep up, but was making a mockery of herself in her attempts to go faster. All she was doing was bringing her failures closer together.

It was too easy to offer a challenge, but Kagami couldn’t help enjoying it all the same.

She couldn’t see Chloe’s face, but as the minutes slipped by, she could feel the desperation mounting behind the mask. She tried new angles, trying to flail her way into blocking Kagami’s counters, and then seemingly random defenses, which, in fairness, occasionally approximated something correct, but never well enough to give her a proper chance.

And every time she advanced, Kagami turned the attack back on her, as easily as one might swat a fly, and every time, she watched for that little _twitch_ that she was coming to recognize as a sign of annoyance.

20 minutes passed, and then 30, and then…

Just before 40, Chloe managed to turn back Kagami’s counter-attack, which, to be sure, she hadn’t expected, but which Chloe had apparently expected even less, as she barely seemed to register it in time for Kagami to retake the initiative, this time with more success.

Still, Chloe had perked up in a way that was frankly _annoying,_ and she seemed to fight with renewed vigor after that, despite the fact that Kagami didn’t give her another inch the whole rest of the hour.

And then, the timer expired, a ringing filling the air.

Kagami returned one more strike, and then, as they pulled away again, lightly tapped her blade against Chloe’s, more out muscle memory than anything else. It should have been a sign of respect for an enemy, but today, it was perfunctory.

Then, as easily as if Chloe had ceased to exist, she made for the changing room.

There was a silence behind her, and then… Chloe followed, because, after all, what choice did she have?

Kagami didn’t look back as she entered the changing room, letting her silence itself be an insult, and her helmet cover the small satisfied smile she didn’t quite feel like putting in the effort to stifle.

“I want a rematch,” said Chloe, behind her.

She stopped.

A rematch? Really?

Chloe _really_ wanted _another_ hour of constant defeat?

Now, of course, the first had been quite satisfying, but satisfying in a way that, well, left Kagami _satisfied_.

“Next week. Same time. Same place.”

Now, though, the satisfaction was slipping slightly, because apparently Chloe still hadn’t learned her lesson.

\--

There was a long, long silence, as Kagami stood there, faced away from her.

She’d successfully blocked once, and next time, she’d be expecting it; she’d be ready, and she’d counter, and sooner or later, it would land.

And Kagami…?

“Then you will lose again, next week,” she said, and kept walking.

And Chloe, behind her mask, didn’t let her expression shift.

Kagami had made another statement, as good as an order.

Well then. It was time to remind her that Chloe didn’t _listen_ to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's safe to say that Chloe has transitioned neatly from 'I don't listen to you,' to 'I have a grudge against you.'
> 
> Kagami, meanwhile, is finding that it's apparently harder to make someone with a grudge give up than she expected.


	6. Interlude: An Outside Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no denying that something's going on, but they don't know what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given up trying to predict how long my fics will go, at this point. But... I feel like this is at least a third of the way in.

“How are you this good at bluffing?”

“I’m not, dude! You just don’t expect me to.”

Nino pulled in the chips from yet _another_ hand that he’d won despite having the weaker cards.

Marinette was sitting at Nino’s dining room table, attempting, along with Alya, to hold on against his unexpected proficiency at poker. The sun had set the better part of an hour ago, and, with no school in the morning, none of them had any intention of letting that put them to bed.

“See, I think it’s just that I’m not so busy thinking about my cards that it shows on my face.”

Alya sighed, shaking her head. “And here I thought we were supposed to be on the same wavelength.”

“I mean,” said Nino, chuckling, “I think I’m on _your_ wavelength; you wish you had better cards right now, right?”

Alya’s expression twisted, and she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Lucky guess.”

“Maybe so,” said Nino, “maybe not.”

“Well, assuming you two aren’t both a step ahead of me,” said Marinette, “I’ll raise.”

This prompted Alya to check her cards, as Nino shrugged, and called.

“By the way,” said Nino, “you guys been paying attention to Adrien, last few days?”

“Marinette has,” said Alya, nudging Marinette.

Marinette laughed. “No more than usual. Why do you ask?”

“Has he seemed… _off_, to you guys?”

Alya paused midway through her dealing, and gave him a puzzled look.

“How do you mean?”

“Okay, well, not like, _off_ off, but I’m pretty sure there’s some weird stuff going on.”

“Like?” said Alya, starting to lay out cards again.

“He had to get off a call with me yesterday,” said Nino, “which, like, isn’t unusual, but get this; he said he had to go teach Chloe fencing.”

Marinette and Alya looked at each other.

“Since when does Chloe fence?” said Marinette.

“Right? That’s what I was wondering.”

“And why is Adrien teaching her?” added Alya.

“Oh, and, weird thing; I asked him about it, and he, like, didn’t want to talk about it?”

Alya furrowed her brow.

“There’s _no way_ that he… Right? No way that he suddenly decided he liked Chloe? Marinette, you haven’t had that nightmare again, have you?”

“My nightmares aren’t prophetic,” said Marinette, waving her off, though an edge of nervousness had crept onto her face. She managed a laugh. “Besides, we should be fine until one of them names a hamster after me.”

Alya snorted.

“Well, I’ll make sure Nino keeps an eye out for it.”

“Oh, trust me, even if you didn’t, you’d still be the first people to hear about it,” said Nino, laying down his cards. “Aaand, I think that hand goes to me.”

“How about we get your little brother to come over here and spy on your cards for us?” said Alya.

Nino laughed. “He’d want to play. Honestly, he might be better than me.”

“So… don’t do that?” said Marinette.

“Probably not.”

A long moment went by.

“But why fencing?”

“Dunno. It sounded like he was… Excited? Like he was telling me a secret.”

“Maybe his father doesn’t know about it?” said Marinette.

“Maybe, but like, Chloe was the one person he was allowed to hang out with, and fencing is pretty much the only thing he’s allowed to do, so why wouldn’t he be allowed to fence with Chloe?”

“I don’t know,” said Marinette, “I just can’t imagine him being excited about it unless he wasn’t supposed to be doing it. It _is_ Chloe, after all.”

“Maybe he’s excited because they haven’t done any friend things in a while?” offered Nino.

“But then, why would it be secret?” said Alya. “That’s what gets me; it’s like he’s cooperating with her on something secret, but I _cannot_ figure out what possible goal they’d have in common. Adrien makes friends; Chloe makes enemies.”

\--

Chloe was making friends.

That thought echoing in his head, Adrien grinned as he lay back in his bed.

Kagami had only agreed to one day, but Chloe had called him up late that same night, with a carefully _not _desperate plea to show her how to fence, which had to mean she’d be going back.

For a second, he’d almost considered turning the offer down, in favor of letting her learn directly from Kagami, until he’d realized that, in all likelihood, Kagami had refused to take it easy on her.

That was Kagami for you. She wasn’t a teacher by trade.

It seemed only fair to give Chloe a sporting chance, especially since Adrien had seen for himself that it was harder to learn fencing by experience without a base of knowledge to draw on.

So, yesterday, she’d come over, and he’d spent the better part of an hour making sure that her basic form was good, and the basics of… well, the basics of how not to be awful at fencing. He’d also taken the liberty of showing her some of what, exactly, Kagami was capable of, since significant portions of her technique had subtle variations that nonetheless made it a nightmare to spar her if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

When Chloe had finally left, Adrien had only narrowly restrained himself from telling her that she shouldn’t be so worried about winning; he’d been close, before realizing that if Kagami respected _drive,_ which she absolutely did, and if she enjoyed a good fight, which he was sure by now that she did, then Chloe focusing on improving was in _all_ of their interests.

After all, if they weren’t actually together, then really, Chloe’s only chance to interact with her was in combat.

And, if catching his own assumption that she should relax had been a close call, then his urge to ask how it was going was nigh-irresistible.

But… No.

He’d set this up, and now it was his responsibility to give them all the space in the world; he could get back to them, in, say, a week? Maybe two weeks?

That should be long enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien? Might want to take a seat. Best you don't hold your breath for this one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Losing doesn't mean Chloe's lost.  
Kagami is forced to realize that Chloe is fueled by an unholy combination of spite and pride that is greater than the sum of its parts.  
Chloe is forced to realize how much longer Kagami's been doing this than her.  
Well... She isn't forced to.  
But, also, she wasn't trying to.  
And, definitely, she didn't want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand back to our regularly scheduled dueling.
> 
> It's always time to duel.

One week hadn’t been enough, and nor, for that matter, had two. By the third, Kagami was starting to have regrets about her continued matches with Chloe.

That wasn’t to say that Chloe had somehow started _winning._ By the end of their third session, she’d only managed to block a small handful of times, and only twice had she managed to counterattack, which, of course, Kagami turned back with barely a thought.

But.

Kagami had two problems.

The first problem was simply that defeating Chloe was slowly losing its appeal; you could only defeat someone without mercy so many times before you got used to sensation.

More to the point, the second problem was linked with the first.

Losing didn’t seem to result in Chloe being defeated.

It was… Paradoxical, to say the least, but if the definition of insanity truly was attempting the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result, then Chloe was an absolute _madwoman._ She never said a word when she lost, only reset to try again. Nothing seemed to blunt her willingness to try again.

And, more to the point, deeper into layers of paradox, was the fact that not caring was completely against what Kagami knew of Chloe; she was prideful beyond reason, and spiteful. Losing should have made it impossible for… Well, impossible for what was happening, to happen.

Kagami, if she’d even considered the idea of Chloe making it this long, would have expected her to start trying to get out of the matches to save her bruised ego. Or, if her spite had been stronger than her shame at losing, then she _should_ have fought every match in a rage.

Instead… It was as if her pride and her spite were reacting into some sort of… arrogant confidence. She refused to believe that anything could stop her, or that she could truly lose. It was like a gambler, who, whenever they lost, stoically doubled the wager, assuming it would pay off some day.

…

Kagami was almost sweating as their fourth match came to a close.

Whatever force kept Chloe quiet as they fought, it seemed to unceasingly drive her onward, never resting in a fight. Kagami didn’t get downtime during their fights, which, of course wasn’t such an issue, since it wasn’t like Chloe’s attacks really forced her to _work._

At the same time, though, Chloe had managed, only once, to block twice in a single round, before Kagami’s third counter had finally made contact, and several more times to block Kagami’s first counterattack.

She had to be practicing more than once a week. You didn’t improve _that fast_ if you weren’t.

Kagami, though she wouldn’t have admitted it, almost considered that, with the silence, and rapid improvement since last week, Chloe might have replaced herself with someone else, but, resolutely, she forced herself not to check. Chloe’s improvement was _human._ It was _nothing_ special, and she wouldn’t give Chloe even the imaginary satisfaction of suspecting otherwise.

So, as always, she didn’t even look back as she went to the changing room, rapidly and methodically removing her gear in her stall.

\--

Chloe, in her own stall, was grinning as she hurried to get her jacket off.

She was on the trail. Every battle took her closer to victory, and Kagami had to know it by now. Let her fight as hard as she wanted, but that would just make Chloe stronger, and soon…

Chloe would take every ounce of skill and raw talent that Kagami had, every clever little maneuver and infuriating block, and throw it back in her face.

And, as if that wasn’t good enough, Chloe had come up with the _perfect_ way to simultaneously insult Kagami _and_ dodge an annoying little issue she’d been thinking about, using nothing more than a cold pack.

Putting her fencing gear back in her back as quickly as she could without sounding audibly hurried, she stepped out of the stall.

She blinked.

She’d expected Kagami to be out here, but… She hadn’t expected her to be down on one knee, facing away as she hung up her suit’s pants, and…

Chloe had intended to keep walking immediately as soon as she was sure that Kagami hadn’t left yet, but cognitive dissonance held her in place.

She hadn’t expected Kagami’s shoulders to be so… broad.

She should have, of course; her own shoulders were aching, almost as much as her arms, or her legs, or, for that matter, her stomach. This was nothing to be surprised by, and Chloe had a _plan_ she’d been acting on…

_A plan that she needed to get back to?_

Right.

Chloe looked away, suddenly worryingly aware of the fact that if Kagami had turned around at that moment, her face would have been entirely visible.

Chloe’s face.

Not… Not Kagami’s face.

Kagami’s face was nothing to be worried about; it was just… A face.

Like any other face.

Except Chloe _especially_ didn’t like it.

Obviously.

She’d disrespected Chloe, so of _course _Chloe didn’t like her face.

Of course, she’d just meant that Kagami would have seen her getting distracted from her goals by…

Um…

She’d had a plan.

She _still_ had a plan.

She was, of course, going to act on her plan.

Which was why she was standing at the sink, and had been for the past several seconds.

She narrowly restrained herself from looking in the mirror to see if Kagami was looking at her.

Give it a second.

She twisted, and the cold pack crunched in her hand, rapidly chilling.

A second went by, as Chloe paused for effect.

Then, she slowly brought it up to her face, and started pressing it lightly against her cheek.

One slow press, two slow presses, and switch sides…

Repeat.

After a few seconds, she let her eyes slide easily to the side, where, in the mirror, Kagami had stood up, and, exactly as planned, was looking at her in the mirror, expressionless.

“Oh,” said Chloe, as if she hadn’t considered the possibility of Kagami being curious, _“I’m sorry, _but _some_ of us have to go _outside_ after working out, and _one_ of us is famous enough that she has to worry about the paparazzi seeing her red and sweaty after working out. Maybe if your house was a little _bigger,_ I’d have cooled off by the time I made it to the door, but, well…”

A long second passed, and Chloe almost wasn’t sure if Kagami would try to defend her _clear_ lapse of hospitality.

“There are showers directly to your right,” she said.

Chloe managed to keep her expression straight, and pressed the cold pack a bit harder into her cheek, in a vain attempt to keep it from turning redder.

“Oh, well,” she said, trying to recover, “I didn’t realize you thought it was good etiquette to come into someone’s house and just _use their shower.”_

“This is a changing room suitable for people who are not close friends of my family,” said Kagami, “any intelligent mind should recognize the showers are meant for anyone who changes in this room.”

Chloe, sighed, managing to switch tacks almost as quickly as Kagami switched stances. “Well, then, I suppose I should admit it; I only accept a level of quality in my shower products that I already know you can’t offer, and I’d _hardly_ bring my own along and shame you.”

Kagami knew she’d made it up on the spot, but that didn’t matter. What _did_ matter was that she’d turned a blunder into a subtle mockery covered in politeness.

Chloe managed to keep her smile soft, and almost pitying, which was far less nasty than the face she _wanted_ to be making at Kagami’s just-visible annoyance.

“If you leave a list, then I have little doubt that I can arrange to have any products you need stocked,” said Kagami, the annoyance sinking _truly_ beneath the surface again, as she stared steadily into Chloe’s eyes. “And in the meantime, if the walk outside is ‘too short,’ then I will willingly show you the _long_ way to get outside.”

The smile dropped.

“I can find my _own_ ‘long way to get outside,” said Chloe.

“Then I’ll be sure to let my mother know you could wander into her study unannounced,” said Kagami. “I’m sure she’ll understand.”

The gears in Chloe’s mind spun, and then _caught._

Tomoe Tsurugi.

Bad idea.

“Well,” she said, “I’d certainly _hate_ to _bother_ her.”

There was a moment of silence, as Chloe’s mind churned.

Kagami had made no orders, so there was no _certain_ reason she should risk the paparazzi. More to the point, she’d be wasting Kagami’s time.

“Lead on,” she said.


	8. The Longest Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami takes the long way out.  
Chloe is probably allergic to something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've figured out where the major bend in this story is going to happen. It's not yet, but it's coming up soon.

When Kagami had suggested showing Chloe ‘the slow way out,’ she’d done it in the sure knowledge that Chloe didn’t know what she was getting into.

Her house was mostly kept to one story tall, with occasional exceptions, which meant, of course, that things had to be spread out wide. More to the point, it was just… _large. _The Grand Paris, where Chloe lived, was _technically_ larger in terms of floorspace, and, maybe, would have made for a better ‘long way out,’ but Kagami knew for a fact that to someone who had never been there before, her house was _far_ more confusing, and had far fewer people around to ask questions about why Kagami was leading a half-exhausted Chloe around.

As for how long she could stall Chloe out? She was going to find out.

\--

As Chloe followed behind her, she slowly began to realize that this might be working slightly in Kagami’s favor.

Essentially, all Kagami was doing was walking at a slow, measured pace, while Chloe…

Well, suffice to say she was starting to get… Call it bored. Obviously, she wasn’t uncomfortable, since Kagami definitely didn’t have the ability to make her uncomfortable, and it wasn’t like she couldn’t handle long stretches of silence.

The problem with bored, though, was that she wasn’t sure she could pull out her phone and follow Kagami at the same time, which meant she was forced to follow behind. More to the point, she wasn’t exactly about to start talking.

The only remaining option, then, was silence.

Down one hallway, up a set of stairs into a small room, through the room, and down again. Then, another hallway…

After what had been at least a couple minutes following Kagami’s retreating back, Chloe was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Kagami had made sure to wear the tank top and shorts as a way to mock her.

Strong back, strong arms, strong legs, all seeming perfectly at ease, even after an hour of sparring. It seemed like a jab at the burning ache in Chloe’s body, at the persistent twitch in her wrist. It was a brazen statement of physical superiority.

The worst part, of course, was that it was done in just such a way that Chloe couldn’t very well respond to it. After all, Kagami was faced away, and what was the point of showing off, if the message wouldn’t get across?

For that matter, what would she be showing off? Her flexibility? Poise? Grace? The fact that her legs hurt far less than they would have if she was out of shape?

She doubted Kagami was ever even _willing_ to dance, and Chloe had had years of training.

Hm.

If she could somehow _force_ Kagami to dance…

Well… She’d have to keep it in mind.

And, somehow, Kagami was managing to give her plenty of time to think about it, because they had turned no less than three times, and Chloe didn’t get the impression that they were ever retracing their steps.

The hallway led into a large dining room, suitable for a large gathering, and then out, past a kitchen.

This building should _not _have been this large. Chloe was almost certain that the outside view should not have been able to conceal _this much hallway._

And then…

Kagami pushed through a door, and a warm breeze struck Chloe’s face.

Well. It looked like she’d finally run out of-

This was a garden.

They’d walked that distance, without seeing anyone, and now _there was a garden._

Chloe stepped through the door, and tried to rapidly take in what she was looking at.

_Small trees, no taller than the walls, grew with careful precision, shading the stone path that curved smoothly to the exit, and the small flowers that grew underneath them. Large boulders were strewn about, managing to look simultaneously natural and deliberate._

_Chloe, of course, registered very little of this, noticing mostly that while she usually had little patience for gardens, this one was… much more interesting._

She stood, not quite certain what she was seeing.

The garden, though she’d never have admitted it aloud, was beautiful, but so… _not her._ If she took a selfie here, she’d stick out like a sore thumb.

She looked around, trying to understand the evidence of her eyes, and realized only too late that Kagami had noticed her stopping, and turned to face her.

And…

Chloe didn’t know exactly what it was, but there was something in the way Kagami held herself…

She fit here, perfectly.

For a moment, even though they weren’t sparring, Chloe had the stomach-twisting sensation that she was utterly outmatched.

“Try not to touch anything,” said Kagami, and Chloe’s mind started moving again.

She needed to get out of this garden. She needed to be facing off against Kagami somewhere else; _anywhere _else. 

“W- Well, obviously,” said Chloe, barely even registering the stumble in her voice, “what would I even _want_ to touch? One of the rocks?”

Kagami’s expression didn’t shift.

“Whatever,” she said, feeling almost attacked under the calm scrutiny Kagami was giving her, “if you don’t want me to touch anything, then show me the way out.”

“So, you _don’t_ want to take the long way out.”

“Not _this_ long.”

“Fine.”

And without another word, Kagami turned, and, following the path, kept walking.

Chloe followed her, suddenly grateful that she wasn’t looking back, because her face, though she couldn’t see it, felt like it was on fire, and had to be a bright, burning red.

She wasn’t exactly in a perfect spot to question why, but…

Surely, it had been something in the garden.

That was to say, something she’d been allergic to, because there was no other way that she could have had a reaction like that, unless she’d almost _instantly_ gotten a sunburn, which was impossible.

Yeah…

Allergies.

…

By the time they made it to the _real_ outside world, Chloe’s face was finally beginning to look normal again.

She made it to her car, and… No paparazzi.

She hadn’t really expected there to be; her preparations were for the off chance that someone showed up. It didn’t pay to be unprepared for this kind of thing. After all, look at what had happened the last time Adrien had gone walking around by himself; mobs, photos, a giant monster, and rumors that he was in a relationship with Marinette. And he’d almost died.

Paparazzi were a menace, if a flattering one, and they were far _less_ flattering if they caught you looking anything but your best.

Chloe frowned, looking down at her bag.

She was certain that Kagami’s line about willingly acquiring any shower supplies Chloe needed had been a jab, meant to imply that she had the moral high ground, which meant Chloe absolutely _could not_ acknowledge it…

But one bad look got any tabloid riled up beyond all reason.

Maybe, despite her line about it being insulting to Kagami, she’d have to pack some extra essentials next time, just in case.

\--

Kagami honestly hadn’t expected Chloe to _actually _tell her to cut to the chase and take her back to her car, but she was counting it as a victory.

It seemed to be the garden that had done it.

Maybe she didn’t like nature?

Or… maybe it was an irrational offense; it certainly wouldn’t be a big surprise, considering this was Chloe.

Whatever the case, Kagami could see no way that a sane individual would accept that a garden was somehow offensive, so if it got Chloe so infuriated, then maybe Kagami would have to see if she could… By sheer coincidence, have Chloe end up back there again.

Maybe fencing wasn’t breaking her, but _that_ had, and Kagami, however much this was about taking her down a peg, had to admit that it was satisfying to see her red in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, by the transitive property...  
If the garden is beautiful, and Kagami matches it...  
Yeah, I can't do math. Sorry guys.  
Thankfully, though, neither can Chloe, so I don't have to.


	9. Pyrrhic Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe makes a landmark success, and finds it tarnished immediately.

It was now their fifth week of sparring, and Kagami had known that this _particular _round was going wrong the instant she felt the snap of Chloe’s parry, and seen the flash of a counter.

She’d twisted, pulling back, out of the way, her own foil moving like lightning to block the strike, but she’d been out of position.

Only narrowly did she defend, and her own counterattack was barely a feint which Chloe blocked, almost easily.

One more stab, and—

For the first time since she’d started sparring with Chloe, she felt the poke of a foil in her chest.

And then Chloe had pulled away, and… they were standing as they always did, as if nothing had just happened… Except she could almost imagine Chloe’s expression under her mask; surprised, and then grinning viciously.

They could only have had a few minutes left, and Chloe had been pushing hard, but now… She fought on, with seemingly renewed vigor.

Kagami, admittedly beginning to grow fatigued under Chloe’s relentless assault (though surely not as badly as Chloe herself) was almost surprised to find that she was beginning to feel the effort she’d exerted.

Chloe’s strikes were rapidly losing the semblance of grace she had learned, making them far easier to defend against, but Kagami still had to respond to every one of them, and Chloe seemed to be deliberately not letting her reset, leaping back every time Kagami landed a hit, and almost instantly coming again. In a strange way… It felt as if she was really in a fight; no time to rest, and no time to think.

The minutes slipped by in a blur, and when the alarm rang, the best Chloe had managed to do was block a handful of counterattacks.

Chloe, at the final jab into her stomach, didn’t leap back, instead… staggering. Kagami was breathing hard, but Chloe sounded _ragged._ Her head was bent, and she swayed on her feet.

Then, she was too far over, and falling, and-

Kagami didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, and placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder, pushing back against gravity.

Chloe… Steadied.

“A good fencer can still stand when they’re finished,” she said, quietly, since she was only a few inches from Chloe’s face. “Now. The bench is behind you. _Sit down._”

\--

Chloe couldn’t even muster the will to disobey.

How ironic; she’d managed her first real victory, and her reaction had been to put herself in a position where Kagami could order her around.

She managed to make it to the bench, and practically _fell_ onto it.

_‘A good fencer…’ _She didn’t even have the energy to get angry at the jab. She’d probably need a minute before she could stand up. She couldn’t even find the strength to reach up and rub at the shoulder Kagami had used to keep her upright, which felt weird after the contact.

_Kagami had made sure she didn’t fall._

That was… Definitely an insult, right? Even after Chloe had landed on a hit, Kagami was trying to say that she was so far ahead that she wasn’t afraid to help her stay upright.

That had to be it.

A minute passed, and then two.

She thought, for a second, that she heard footsteps behind her, at the door to the changing rooms, but… Well, suffice to say, she didn’t turn around in any span of time to let her verify it.

As the arm settled in her lungs, she finally started to feel the triumph again.

She stood, carefully, and made for the locker rooms.

She’d known, all along, that Kagami was as mortal as anyone else.

Now Kagami _had_ to know it too.

\--

As the water, almost hot enough to scorch flesh, poured over her, Kagami’s index finger tapped against the tile of the wall.

Chloe had hit her.

Of course she had; Kagami’s counter had been weak, even sloppy. Somewhere in the hours they’d spent fighting, some part of Kagami’s mind had concluded that Chloe wasn’t enough of a threat to be worth paying attention to.

And now?

Well… Now she needed to find this new outcropping of inattention, and mercilessly destroy it. Every opponent _always_ deserved your full attention. 

And, of course, all of her attention, at that moment, _had_ been on Chloe, but some of it hadn’t been in the present; she’d been considering whether she could manage to lead Chloe back through the garden again. Maybe she’d be able to pin down whether that had _truly_ been what had enraged her.

And now…

She looked up at the sound of footfalls entering the room.

She closed her eyes, listening intently.

The footfalls came closer, and then…

There was the sound of something fairly heavy hitting the ground, and then the sound of the curtain on the shower across from her being opened. Then, after an instant, the curtain was moved again.

Kagami opened her eyes, and straightened up, turning to her curtain.

The material, of course, was largely opaque, but as her eyes adjusted to the distortion…

She could just make out a pair of feet under the curtain of the other shower, and, as she looked, a hand slipped through the gap, holding what appeared to be some article of clothing.

Kagami raised her eyebrows.

So… It seemed that Chloe had either overcome her unwillingness to use the supplied shower supplies, or she’d taken the ‘rude’ option, and brought her own.

Well.

Presumably, she’d find out more at some point, whether she wanted to or not.

Kagami, at the inevitable pace of someone who _will_ finish, even if not immediately, grabbed a bar of soap, and set to work.

After a few seconds more, there was the sound of the opposing shower turning on.

Then, but for the sounds of falling water, and the occasional _pop_ of Chloe opening something, all was silent for the next few minutes.

She’d expected Chloe to say something, and she wasn’t disappointed.

As Kagami was almost done with her hair…

“I’m still not done,” said Chloe, her voice rising over the sound of falling water.

Kagami didn’t respond.

“You hear me? I’m still not done. You’re going to have to get used to losing to me, because it’s going to keep happening.”

Kagami shut off the water.

She grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself and, barely pausing to pick up her discarded clothes, walked out.

_“Hey!” _called Chloe, voice fading behind her, clearly angered by the lack of a response.

Kagami didn’t turn back, steaming ahead (almost literally, considering how hot the water had been) into the locker room, snapping up her actual, daily clothes with barely a glance.

Maybe it was too late to let Chloe _properly_ starve for attention, but she didn’t need to dignify every little line with a response. Let her flounder in the water, unready to follow, if only for a little bit.

She didn’t notice the water stop, and had, in fact, barely gotten her pants on, when she began to make out the light slap of bare feet on tile.

Then, there was a shadow at the curtain.

_“I’ll tell you one more time,”_ said Chloe, _“You’re going to lose again. I’m. Not. Done.” _He finger poked forward into the curtain, jabbing forward, as if to punctuate the line.

Her tone was grim, and certain. For an instant, Kagami was put in mind of… She didn’t know what, but for a second, the grit in her voice had almost been impressive.

_“Then you’ll bleed for every hit you land, and you’ll find out what happens when I make the first move.”_

Chloe, apparently, hadn’t expected that response, as she stood there…

Kagami frowned, as she noticed, at Chloe’s feet… Dripping water, and the tail end of a towel. She’d clearly been in too much of a hurry to tie it properly, and if Kagami had to guess, the top end of it was supported only by Chloe’s hand.

“And put that towel on properly,” she said, “you’re indecent, and making a mess.”

She saw Chloe recoil, and knew the jab had landed.

Chloe, instead of following the command, simply slipped to the side, and into the neighboring stall.

Kagami was about to continue getting dressed, when…

She froze, looking uncertainly into thin air.

There was a smell of something sweet, just barely on the edge of her senses.

Then, the realization clicked in her mind that that had to be the result of whatever Chloe had brought with her.

She blinked, almost confused, and then shook her head.

Such a shame that the smell she carried with her was so much more appealing…

Perhaps ‘more appealing’ gave the wrong impression.

Internally, Kagami corrected herself.

Make it… So much _less appalling_ than the girl herself.

Yes… That made more sense.

Shaking off the difference of semantics, Kagami managed a grim smile. Chloe could easily be right; there could be more losses coming her way, even enough to lose what would have been a _real match,_ but Adrien could attest that simply sparring with her for long stretches wasn’t always enough to put someone on par with her, however close Adrien sometimes got. Maybe Chloe would get close, but Kagami had no intention of letting her get ahead.

And, even if her skills were improving, her wits had _not._

_Kagami was going to make this an uphill battle on a mountain that went up forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stick around, and we'll be cutting to the very same place where this whole story came from...  
Animaestro.  
Except it's probably not that, since if things go differently, there's no Akuma.
> 
> Also, well done Kagami; you didn't get as flustered as Chloe did. That's got to be a victory.


	10. The Premier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe fights on, and before she knows it, she finds that she has to face Kagami in a new arena; a theater, at the premier of the new movie based on the superheroes of Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in an interesting spot between being unexpectedly similar to the canon version of Animaestro, when you think about how much the metaphorical butterfly has been flapping its wings, but also far less similar than you might expect.
> 
> It's familiar, but not too familiar.  
But not too not familiar.  
(I'm informed that this is the new craze)

If Chloe had found Kagami a dangerous enemy before, it had been nothing in comparison to the difficulty she’d unlocked now.

Kagami reacted quickly, but it was _worse_ when she got to make the first move; she didn’t have to worry about blocking, and she got to process her next move more than an _instant_ beforehand.

Chloe had rapidly been introduced to dozens of bewildering opening strikes, feints, and assorted other tricks, and, frankly, if she hadn’t managed to land one good hit on her before this had all started, she might have thought that there was no way she could overcome what she was up against. Certainly, she didn’t get another hit in the next two weeks.

Yet, even Kagami’s trickiest maneuvers could be blocked, and Chloe knew it. Kagami knew it too.

So, she fought on, taking grim comfort from the fact that even if Kagami never let her get a hit in, if Chloe listened closely, just at the end of their matches, she could hear the hissing edge of breath that was on the verge of running short.

And, yes, Chloe’s breathing was always ragged, but Kagami… She could bleed. She could lose. She could run out of breath.

Chloe just needed to keep pushing until she had her back to her limits, and then _keep_ pushing.

She managed one more successful strike at the end of their seventh week, and this time, it had been when Kagami herself had made the first move. For the next day, she’d felt practically unstoppable, unable to keep a raw, confident grin from her face.

School had passed easily, and Chloe was looking forward to seeing herself on the big screen…

Well, technically, not _herself,_ but Queen Bee. She might not have been in the promotional materials but there was _no way_ that that ‘Astruc’ man would make a movie starring the heroes of Paris and _not_ include her.

It was even to the point that seeing Kagami walk into the building with her mother, Chloe couldn’t help laughing.

_“Wrong place, Tsurugi,” _she said, not quite under her breath, and was surprised to hear, from her left…

“Oh no, not _her,”_ said Marinette, almost in unison…

Well, in unison if it had been the same sentence.

The stared at each other, recoiling at their unexpected proximity. Chloe had spotted her earlier, off with a tray of macarons and probably dropping them everywhere, but hadn’t expected for them to be _right next to each other._

“Do you know her?” said Marinette.

Did she know-

_“I don’t just know her,”_ said Chloe, _“I’m her worst nightmare.”_

_“You’re her—”_ repeated Marinette, and shook her head in disbelief. “Does this have anything to do with Adrien teaching you fencing?”

Chloe went a bit red, but ably recovered.

_“Yes. Yes, it does.”_

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Even _I_ know that Kagami’s an amazing fencer, Chloe. _Spiders_ are probably more of a nightmare to her than your fencing abilities, and I doubt spiders even bother her.”

“Have _you_ seen me fight?” she cut back.

Marinette looked up in annoyance, and—

In the moment before she responded aloud, Chloe looked over, and, without warning, she was staring directly into Kagami’s eyes.

“You know what? I’d _like_ to see you fight her,” said Marinette. “Either you lose, or…” She trailed off, probably following Chloe’s gaze.

An expression of distaste crept visibly onto Kagami’s face (which Chloe considered a minor victory) and then she turned, and looped one of her arms through one of Adrien’s, and gently pulled him away (which was… not a victory).

Involuntarily, her fists clenched at her sides, and she started forward, only to… pause.

No.

She’d fought against Kagami for over a month; she knew what she was capable of. Making a scene only worked reliably against people who bowed to your will. Kagami didn’t.

And besides, what would she say?

Kagami could ignore her, _especially_ in public.

“Chloe?”

She spun to look at Marinette.

_“What’s your problem, Dupain-Cheng?”_ she snapped.

Marinette bristled, her momentary uncertain, almost soft expression fading.

“What’s _yours_?”

She laughed, bitterly. “Take a wild guess; I don’t like people stealing my friends.”

Marinette gave her a strange look, and then… The tension dropped, slightly.

“Well. I guess for once, we’re in the same boat. Neither of us wants Adrien falling in love with Kagami.”

She scoffed.

“Says the girl who’s already tried.”

Marinette blushed, but her voice was affronted.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“It _means,_” said Chloe, “that before he met you, and your little friends, he spent time with _me._”

Marinette groaned, but she didn’t even sound truly angry. “Chloe. I never told him to stop spending time with you; he figured it out for himself after he saw how you treated people.”

_“Why you…”_ Chloe’s eyes closed, her fists clenching. She huffed a breath. _“I don’t have time for this. _I have to go remind Kagami why _exactly _she needs to respect me.”

\--

Marinette rubbed at her eyes.

So… Chloe had a grudge against Kagami, but utterly refused to have someone be on her side. Kagami was _basically_ on a date with Adrien. Marinette didn’t know what _exactly_ she was supposed to do in this situation.

Tikki wasn’t available for contact. Ladybug had already said she wasn’t coming.

Maybe… A surprise appearance?

No…

Sighing, Marinette picked up the tray again.

She _did_ have a job to do, even if she’d rather be fixing problems she didn’t have the tools to handle.

Walk around, carry the macarons in a ‘yours if you want them’ kind of way, and ponder, idly, what the point was of coming to this premier if she didn’t even get to offer Adrien a macaron.

Honestly, not even a _normal_ macaron, let alone the one she’d made especially for him.

“Two of the dark chocolate ones,” said a man behind her.

She turned, and was midway through offering him what he’d asked for when…

“Thomas Astruc, right? The director?”

He perked up slightly, pleasant surprise tinting his cheerless expression.

“Ha! Yeah, that’s me, and you’re the girl who offered me one of these _earlier_. Gotta say, I’m surprised; I wasn’t expecting the first person to recognize me to be a member of the waitstaff. Or… Well, anyway, you’re the first person who’s actually seemed halfway happy to see me.”

Marinette shrugged. “I mean, I guess I should have expected you’d be here; it’s kind of your movie.”

He laughed aloud. “Well, yeah, I suppose it kind of is. Put in over a year on it. Do you know how early we had to start work on it to get it finished already? We barely even knew who Ladybug and Chat Noir were at that point, let alone how the story was going to work.”

“Oh, is that why Ladybug is afraid of cats?”

He put up a hand with an ‘I see the problem,’ kind of expression.

“That, actually, is a total fabrication, and it has been the whole time. She _might_ be, for all I know, but, if they have to keep their secret identities, then we kind of _have_ to come up with personalities for them for when they’re out of their masks.” He reached out, taking another macaron. “You know, honestly, it feels like of all the people here, you’re head and shoulders above everyone else on what this movie’s about. I’m not sure Jagged Stone actually knows what he’s doing here.”

Marinette laughed. “Well, he is a rock star. I think at a certain point your schedule gets busy enough that you don’t even have time to check what an appointment is for.”

“I’d imagine so.”

He paused, and looked over to the theater’s entrance.

“Tell you what,” he said. “At this point, I’m not sure I’ve even got it in me to sit around with a bunch of people who don’t even want to watch the movie. I’m probably just going to head home in a few minutes. So… if you want my seat, or, if you’ve got someone you’d want to give a ticket to…” He shrugged, and pulled out a ticket.

Marinette, not quite certain, took it.

“F17,” he said, taking a handful of macarons, “Close to the middle, and as far forward as you can get without being in the nosebleeds.”

Marinette blinked, and nodded; then-

“Ah, wait!” she said, as he turned to walk away.

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to grab a lighter-colored macaron with a bow on it? Only I brought one in specifically, and I was saving it for a special moment.”

He looked down and slid away the top one of the stack.

“Guess you weren’t kidding about the bow,” he said, “must be one special moment.”

“Well… Specially made, specially filled. Besides, it’s passionfruit, which is kind of an acquired taste.

His expression shifted. “Well then we’ve just dodged a bullet because it may be an acquired taste for you, but it’s an innate allergy for me,” he handed it back.

Marinette carefully slipped it back onto the stack, where she could keep an eye on it.

Now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact. I really wanted to have the first line of the Marinette POV bit to be, 'Marinette hadn’t gotten much screen time up to this point, in a fic about a show where she was the main character, so it was about time she be the POV.' But I decided against it because 4th wall reasons.


	11. A Macaron, Well Placed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, with his classic smoothness, manages to hit two birds with one stone, giving Chloe and Kagami some time alone, and going to chat with Marinette at the same time.

_The next few minutes involved a certain amount of maneuvering, and nobody got to see all of it._

_It went something like this._

_Thomas Astruc walked away, for real this time, and Marinette gave the ticket he’d left her an uncertain look._

_But, at about the moment that he began talking to her, Kagami and Adrien had made it to their seats in F15 and F16 respectively._

_They had begun chatting idly about the accuracy of the movie, when Chloe had sat down in F14, next to Kagami, which hadn’t been filled yet._

_\--_

“Oh, hey Chloe,” said Adrien cheerfully. “They really put you right next to us, huh?”

“No,” said Chloe, eyes fixed on Kagami, definitely not noticing the dusting of freckles she was so rarely close enough to see, “I’ll be watching you from two rows back.”

In Chloe’s mind, the message was obvious. ‘If you try anything with Adrien, I’ll know about it.’

Adrien laughed. “Well, I’ll tell you what. Marinette’s handing out macarons, and her family’s work is always _delicious,_ so I’ll leave you two to figure out who’s watching who while I go sample her work.”

And, as they both turned to watch him, he stood up and left.

\--

_In Adrien’s mind, the message was also obvious._

_‘I can’t take my eyes off you.’_

_In his defense, Chloe had been staring _directly_ at Kagami as she’d said it._

_He’d turned back, for a moment._

_“Actually, did either of _you two_ want macarons, while I’m up? I guarantee you they’re to die for.”_

_They’d both made it clear that they were fine without._

_And Adrien had kept walking, and, in a few moments, he was out of theater again._

_\--_

The movie was starting soon, and had set the tray of macarons down, the better to try to figure out what, _exactly_, she was supposed to do in this situation.

She knew, from her parents’ own admission, that she didn’t have to stand around with a tray for the entire duration of the movie; by all rights, she was free to leave, or take the free seat she’d been offered, or…

“Hey, Marinette!”

She jumped, almost knocking the tray over, but managed to recover, spinning to face-

_“A- A- Adrien!?”_ she managed, her heart jumping up so hard that it was a miracle that her head had stayed attached to her neck.

“Yup!” he said, cheerily. “I was just coming by to get a taste of your macarons before the show started!”

“A-h-h-h,” she said, trying, desperately, to wrangle her voice into some semblance of normalcy. “Well, really, I didn’t make them, my parents did and I’m just serving them but I’d love you too- I’d love you to try one-_ I’d love to have you try one.”_

Adrien, seemingly oblivious to her words betraying her, beamed.

“Well then, I’ll leave this one to the master’s judgement. What looks good today?”

To Marinette, it felt as if, stepping on stones to cross a river, she had fallen off of one, and, blindly flailing out with a foot, had landed perfectly, a single step from the other side.

“Well,” she said, her raw need to get this right finally making some headway, “actually… I suppose, there is _one_ macaron I can take credit for.”

“Oh?” said Adrien.

She turned, and, hand shaking, reached out.

Her fingers closed around the macaron.

“I mean… I made this one myself.”

She turned, and reached out.

He put his cupped hands out beneath her closed one.

She let go.

The macaron dropped, perfectly, into his hand, and she felt almost as if she was going to collapse.

He looked down at it, examining the bow.

“Well,” he said, looking at it, “knowing you, this is going to taste as good as it looks, but I’ve got to ask; why the bow, and… why is it the only one?”

“Ah…” said Marinette, suddenly realizing that she hadn’t prepared an answer to either of those questions, other than the truth.

“W- Well… I… Was thinking, that maybe, since I hadn’t ever baked you anything, _personally,_ that maybe I should… Do that?”

He laughed, looking at the macaron as if expecting it to vanish.

“This is… specially for me?”

“I… yes.”

He shook his head, still smiling incredulously.

“Well… Thank you, Marinette.”

He bit down, and…

His expression went blank.

There was a long second of silence, and Adrien… blinked, once, twice, and then…

He was… Crying?

As Marinette was on the verge of panicking, he shook his head, blinking away the tears.

“How… How did you know?”

“How did I know?”

“How did you know that passionfruit was my favorite?”

“Ahh!” said Marinette, still barely holding her ability to speak together. “I… Alya was talking about ice cream, and we were talking about our favorite flavors, but because you hadn’t had ice cream in so long, you were talking about how you like passionfruit macarons, so I… I… You know.”

“Remembered?”

“…Yes?”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve having a friend like you, Marinette,” said Adrien, “but… It wasn’t enough.”

“Oh! Well… Thank you.”

“I… Um…” he said, pulling a hand across his face, as if trying to recall his train of thought, “I should probably be heading back, soon. The seats are probably filling up by now, which means that Chloe’s probably had to go to her assigned seat, which means Kagami’s going to be by herself, which… Well… Unless Chloe took _my_ seat, which would be… Well, what are the odds of that.”

“What?” said Marinette.

“Oh,” said Adrien, rapidly returning to the present. “Nothing. I just… I left Chloe and Kagami talking, when I came _here_…”

“Are you… Sure about that?” said Marinette. “I mean, I talked to Chloe earlier. She and Kagami…” She shrugged, as if to say that it wouldn’t be pretty.

Adrien gave her a surprised look.

“I… I don’t think they’re at a point where anything they’d want to do would make people uncomfortable?” he said. “I mean… No. Even if they were, surely they’re reserved enough…”

Marinette looked at him blankly.

“I mean… I’ve seen Chloe get into shouting matches in public.”

“Well… Okay, yeah, she has done that, hasn’t she,” said Adrien, “but that’s _fighting_ people. Chloe’s _comfortable_ fighting people.”

Marinette’s expression, impossibly, grew blanker.

“I… But… This would be… Fighting people? Each other?”

Now it was Adrien’s turn to be confused.

“Why would they fight each other?”

Marinette gave him an almost disbelieving look.

“Because it’s Chloe!? Because… Because Chloe hates Kagami?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact. Even when another ship is front and center, I'm still kind of lovesquare trash.


	12. The Premier (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami and Chloe talk for longer than they ever have before, and pay for it by receiving more questions than they get answers.
> 
> Marinette realizes that what she's got here is a Lucky Charm situation.

_It was minutes before the moment when Adrien was about to start disputing Marinette’s interpretation of Chloe and Kagami’s relationship._

_Fair to say, his assessment had been correct in one regard; they were too busy paying attention to each other to notice how long he’d been gone._

_\--_

Kagami wasn’t exactly surprised to see Chloe here, since, of course, a movie premiere was the _exact_ kind of thing she might show up to.

The fact that she was here wasn’t the surprise. Neither, for that matter, was the fact that Chloe had, in fact, _shown up next to her_. The surprise was that Adrien had taken the opportunity to _leave them._ Neither of them had expected that.

They stared after him, until, after an interminable period, Kagami mustered the presence of mind to turn back to Chloe.

“You actually scared him off. I’m almost impressed.”

_“Scared him off? _I just gave him the opportunity to get himself free, and he didn’t have the stomach to watch what was about to happen._” _

“Which is?” said Kagami, “Did you remember to bring _material_ to throw at me? Or were you just going to point out that you didn’t _completely_ fail last time we fought?”

She had almost expected Chloe to deflate at that, but…

“_Please. _I don’t need to tell you what happened, or what’s _going_ to happen. You’re not an _idiot._”

“Careful,” said Kagami, “that’s almost a compliment.”

Chloe waved her off. _“A compliment that’s outweighed entirely by the fact that you’re trying to steal Adrien,”_ said Chloe.

Kagami looked at her blankly.

“Steal Adrien? Are you accusing me of being a kidnapper?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” said Chloe, “You show up out of nowhere in the middle of the summer, and within the first week, you’re already coming after Adrien. By the _second_ week, you’re already _so cocky_ that you refuse to get up to let someone who’s known him for _years_ sit beside him. You knew what you were planning the minute you showed up.”

“Your pride is turning into delusions,” said Kagami. “I don’t flinch, and I don’t hesitate; that’s all. If you’ve known Adrien for years, and only decided you wanted to pursue him when you realized your chance was fading, then that’s _your_ problem.”

“_Excuse me?_” said Chloe. “Who’s delusional now? The only reason I’m ‘pursuing’ Adrien is to get him away from _you_.”

“Away from where he _wants_ to be?”

“Ohh,” said Chloe, fingers twisting as if they wanted to form fists, “if he ‘wants’ to be here, then why did he leave the instant I showed up?”

“And if he considered you his savior, then why did he encourage me to take you down a peg?”

Chloe gave her a look that was, for once, openly surprised.

“What?”

Kagami was… almost confused.

“What did you _think_ the point of our sparring matches was?”

Chloe scoffed. “Obviously to give me a chance to beat you at your own game and show that _I’m_ the _real_ force to be reckoned with. Obviously. Why else would Adrien put us up against each other with your supposed ‘strong suit?’”

“Because he thought I’d find it enjoyable, and you’d find it instructive. If you want, you can ask him yourself. We both know Adrien wouldn’t lie.”

“Yeah. Adrien wouldn’t lie,” said Chloe, “which is why maybe _you_ should try asking him a few questions.”

They stared at each other for a long, long second, neither of their expressions shifting, unless it should be to let some tiny sign of the internal confusion out.

“You’re supposed to be ‘too honorable’ to lie,” said Chloe as if to herself.

“And what good would it do you?”

The silence stretched out.

_“You actually believe it,”_ they said, simultaneously.

The two of them stared at each other, obviously trying to wrap their heads around the strange set of circumstances that had somehow led both of them to believe that Adrien had set them against each other for the other’s defeat.

Neither of them seemed to be making any progress.

Chloe took the opportunity to stand up and walk away, probably with the intent of finding Adrien. Of course, she could just as easily have been walking aimlessly; there was no particular _purpose_ in her motions.

Oddly, when she walked without thinking, she didn’t _strut,_ and for a strange second, Kagami could see the bearing of a dancer, graceful and light. She almost hadn’t believed Adrien when he’d offhandedly mentioned it.

How strange.

And… How unrelated to what she was trying to figure out.

_\--_

_Chloe stood, for a minute or so, leaned up against a wall, frowning as she tried, weakly, to remember exactly _what_ she needed to be doing._

_At first, she wondered if she should have stayed._

_Then, she wondered whether Adrien would have lied to Kagami._

_Then, whether Adrien would have lied to her._

_Then, whether she should go after Adrien._

_Then, after finally deciding that, yes, she _should_ track down Adrien, she had to try to remember where he’d been going._

_By the time she remembered Marinette, and the macarons, a significant span of time had passed._

_And, before that time passed…_

_\--_

“What?” said Adrien.

“I… What were _you_ thinking?” said Marinette, completely forgetting in her confusion that she was talking to _Adrien._

“They’re… They’re in love with each other,” said Adrien, “Chloe probably doesn’t want to let anyone else know, and Kagami keeps everything hidden, but—”

“_Since when?”_ said Marinette.

“Since… Since I don’t know when!” said Adrien, “All I know is that Chloe doesn’t know how to handle it, and Kagami didn’t want to admit it, so I suggested they do fencing together, and then they were still doing it, and I’m pretty sure that means that things are going well, and I decided to give them some space!”

“But—” said Marinette, and almost tripped over the thought that if Adrien didn’t _actually_ like Kagami like that, it might be best not to bring up the idea. “Why isn’t Kagami _actually_ sitting with Chloe, then?”

Adrien gave her a shrug. “I… I considered giving Chloe my seat, but I’m pretty sure neither of them wants to make it that obvious.” He sighed. “If I could, I’d put Chloe on my other side, and then just get out of the way, but I can’t exactly ask the _director_ to give up his seat for her.”

Marinette blinked. “The director?”

“Yeah,” said Adrien, “I’m sitting next to him. Thomas Astruc?”

“Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I remember,” said Marinette, staring blankly ahead.

“Ah…” said Adrien, covering his face with his hand, “this is… Please don’t tell anyone, Marinette. Whatever happens, I don’t want it to be because I told you at the wrong time.”

“It’s… It’s fine,” said Marinette, barely even listening, as the wheels in her brain spun almost fast enough to burn. “Just… Let Chloe know I need to talk to her, okay?”

Adrien gave her a strange look. “Marinette. You don’t…? You don’t…”

Marinette looked back at him, back in reality again.

“I don’t?”

“You know… Need to talk to Chloe because…”

Marinette’s expression slowly twisted as she reasoned through what he had to be thinking.

“I don’t have a crush on Chloe, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Adrien let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Good. That would have been too much for me to deal with.”

“You’d… Better get back to your seat,” said Marinette, barely even twinging with regret at sending him away.

Thomas Astruc had practically given her a lucky charm, and she _knew_ how to use those.

If she played this right, sending him away now would bring him back to her soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today, Marinette is subscribing to the 'if you love someone, let them go... and then give a third party a ticket to go sit next to them so that they will then leave, and come back to you.'
> 
> It's not a widely practiced philosophy, despite the fact that it's extremely effective when used correctly.


	13. The Premier (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette uses her ticket.  
Adrien tries and fails to read the mood from 30 feet away.  
Chloe wins.  
Chloe loses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys, final part of animaestro; I'd consider this the end of the first Arc of the fic.

Chloe, having recovered her presence of mind through the dual forces of remembering what she needed to be doing, and being abashed that she’d let herself be distracted in the first place, had barely made it out of the theater-proper when she almost ran directly into Adrien.

_“Adrien!” _she said, ready to ask him about-

“Chloe!” he responded, eyes widening as if he was suddenly remembering something. “Marinette’s looking for you.”

Chloe blinked. “What? Why?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging, “I mean, I know why she’s _not_ doing it, but that doesn’t really help. By the way, how are things going with Kagami?”

What Chloe _wanted_ to say was, _‘What do you mean by that? Do you mean am I losing yet, or am I winning yet?’_

What came out was, prompted by years of practiced certainty and confidence, “Fine.”

“Great!” he said, already moving past her.

And then Chloe was left staring after him, confused, as much as anything, by his apparent urgency.

For a second, she wanted to chase after him, and then… No. He’d be walking into the theater, and Kagami would see her ask him.

So… Her only option was to talk to Marinette.

She turned, and, mustering her classic bearing and demeanor, went hunting.

…

That was to say, she walked into the room, and Marinette was standing there, eating one of her macarons with a faraway, yet oddly determined expression.

As Chloe walked in, Marinette noticed her, and snapped to face her.

Chloe was almost disturbed; Marinette wasn’t usually so… sharp? So… _this._

“What is it, Dupain-Cheng?”

“I have a gift for you,” she said, with a tone of voice that suggested this wasn’t a matter of generosity.

“Is it a macaron?” she said, sarcastically.

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“No.” She pulled a lanyard with a laminated piece of paper out of her pocket. “It’s this.”

Chloe raised her eyebrows.

“A ticket? I already have one of those.”

Marinette actually _smiled._

“But you don’t have this one. This one belonged to Thomas Astruc, the director. Until recently, he was supposed to sit next to Adrien.”

Chloe stopped.

“What?”

“Next to Adrien? Two seats from _Kagami_?” repeated Marinette.

Chloe _stared._

“You… Did you _steal_ this?”

“Of course not,” said Marinette. “He decided to go home, so he gave it to me. Now, I’m giving it to you.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Marinette gave her a slow, careful look. “Because I think you have a better chance of getting Kagami to leave him alone.”

“And why does that matter to _you?_ You haven’t known him _that_ much longer than Kagami has.”

Marinette gave her an annoyed expression. “Does it matter? Do you want the ticket or not?”

Chloe reached slowly out, and then…

“You have a crush on him.”

Her eyes flicked up, and from the way that Marinette’s eyes widened, she was pretty sure she’d hit the mark, a suspicion that was only confirmed when her face started burning.

She couldn’t even muster a proper response.

Chloe laughed.

“Well, I have nothing to fear, then; you’re a _nobody, _and maybe after I’m done handling Kagami, I’ll tell Adrien about this, and we can _all_ laugh about it.”

Marinette’s expression went hard.

“Why are you so hard to work with, Chloe?”

Chloe still almost laughing, looked back at her.

“What?”

“Forget about it. I’ll just keep the ticket for myself.”

“_Ah ah ah_ wait,” said Chloe, as Marinette started walking away. “Wait. Fine. You give me the ticket, and I _don’t_ tell Adrien about your embarrassing crush on him.”

Marinette turned back to her.

“How am I supposed to know I can trust you?”

_“Please,”_ said Chloe, “Have I ever lied?”

“Yes. Many times.”

_“Excuse me? _When?”

“Every time you say that Ladybug comes to visit you,” said Marinette. “We all know she doesn’t.”

Chloe went pink.

“Maybe I’d just tell people how things are going between you and Kagami.”

Her expression froze.

“And how would _you_ know?”

“I can _speculate.”_

Marinette held the lanyard out to her.

“How about you keep it in mind, and we don’t do anything either of us would regret?”

“When did you get so… Snappy?”

“About the time you _literally_ tried to threaten me while I’m helping you.”

Chloe gave her a dirty look, but…

She snatched the lanyard.

“Fine, since the other option is _you_ sitting next to Adrien.”

Marinette rolled her eyes.

\--

_It was minutes ago, now, that Adrien had sat back down next to Kagami, and, as if timed perfectly, the movie had started as he’d arrived._

_Adrien only mildly noticed that the director hadn’t arrived, instead focusing himself on resetting his mind to actually enjoy the movie._

_Kagami had looked over at him, fully intending to ask him about her… situation, but he gave her a cheery smile, and, for a second, she couldn’t quite imagine that he’d have done this _against_ her._

_No._

_This was fine._

_…_

_And, indeed, everything _was_ fine, until about the time, minutes into the introduction of Ladybug’s civilian form, when Chloe sat down on Adrien’s other side, and his day went from good to great._

_Adrien proceeded to make it his primary job to be away from his seat as often and as long as he could without drawing undue suspicion._

_He had to go to the bathroom, he wanted some more macarons, did they have popcorn here, because he wanted popcorn, and oh, maybe he’d stopped to chat with Marinette a bit longer than he’d meant to, and the scene where Chat Noir had turned down Ladybug’s civilian self (he _wished_ Ladybug’s civilian self had a crush on him) had made him uncomfortable, so of course he had to get some distance from it, and he’d gotten thirsty so he had to get a drink, and…_

_In reality, while he _did_ do what he was stating as his reasons, he also spent what might have seemed an undue amount of time sitting with Marinette at a small table near the back of the theater, where they could watch Kagami and Chloe’s interactions, which, though neither of them could hear them, did seem to be numerous._

_He could only hope that the words he could imagine at this distance were something like reality._

_They weren’t_

_\--_

For all Kagami had talked about Chloe ‘not having material,’ she was proud to say that she had managed to _find_ material.

Every time Adrien had walked away, she had set about trying to tear Kagami’s ability to focus on anything approximating romance to shreds, and, of course, Kagami had returned fire with a will. That might have been a problem for the Chloe of a few weeks ago, but Chloe _now_ was beginning to get numb to her cutting words, and was almost amused by it.

And so, as the credits had rolled, she’d made a show of standing up early, as if to make it clear to Kagami that her work here was done. She’d accomplished her goal, and now, she could just leave Kagami to use what little remained of her time with Adrien, in the sure knowledge that there was nothing she could do with it.

So, she stepped out of the theater, one last time, and saw…

“Hello again, Chloe,” said Marinette.

“Hello,” said Chloe, grinning.

“Judging by your expression, things went… Well?”

“_Please._ As if anything I attempt was going to _fail.”_

Marinette nodded, slowly, and then, carefully, looked at the crowd pushing its way out.

“Now… About my… person information.”

_“Ha!”_ she said, laughing. “I had _plenty_ of time to think about that. Some people aren’t _worth_ the attention, Dupain-Cheng, and you’re one of them. I don’t need to worry about you; you’re not even a threat.”

Marinette’s expression was a careful combination of relieved and exasperated, as she shook her head, walking away.

Chloe grinned after her, grinning in the sure knowledge that she had resecured her position _over_ Marinette.

And then…

“You know,” said Kagami, from a bare distance behind her, “as much as I hate to say it, you’ve made a good point for once.”

She spun.

“Some people really _aren’t_ worth the attention,” continued Kagami, “and while I can’t speak for Marinette, I _can_ speak for you.”

Chloe stared at her, seeing what was coming, but powerless to change the words.

“Don’t come back next week. Nobody will let you in.”


	14. One Loose End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami considers why, exactly, she so suddenly decided to cut off her sparring matches with Chloe, and, later, decides that she should take advantage of an opening that Chloe left for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on we go, rolling into arc two.

What had it been?

Annoyance?

Revelation?

Desperation?

Kagami didn’t quite know.

Annoyance… Well, certainly, Chloe’s behavior during the movie _had_ been annoying, but, surely, no more annoying than usual. More… prolonged, perhaps, but Kagami could fight for hours on end without growing tired, and there was no reason that that should change just because the fight was less physical than fencing.

Revelation… She would, of course, have admitted that if Chloe hadn’t dismissed Marinette, Kagami wouldn’t have had the idea to dismiss _her,_ but… Perhaps it was inspiration, but she didn’t feel as if some deeper idea had suddenly bloomed in her mind.

Desperation… Well. Kagami would never admit to desperation, even to herself. Her speed of action, and… perhaps even impulsiveness, was a simple matter of knowing what she wanted from the world, and acting on her desires. Even if it had seemed that, for once, Chloe had left the room having gained back some of her lost ground, it would not have made Kagami _desperate._

So… Why?

Why stop fighting her?

There was, of course, a small voice at the back of her head, muttering about a nameless fear, but…

Kagami ignored it.

…

For the first day after the premier, Kagami didn’t even consider the question; why bother? What mattered was that she’d ended the fight, and, importantly, she’d done it on _her_ terms, in a position of strength.

And, if her thoughts kept toying with snappy comebacks to lines Chloe couldn’t use anymore… Well, that was just momentum. She ignored them.

…

When the weekend arrived, Kagami took advantage of the time to send back the shower supplies that Chloe had left behind, with an appropriate note:

_‘Dear Chloe,_

_I am surprised that, in your obvious displays of greed, and excessive attention to your physical presentation, that you failed to recover these items, which satisfy both desires. I trust that this package arrives in time that you have not entered hysteria over your missing property._

_-Tsurugi, Kagami’_

The words didn’t sound like her own, but that was because she simultaneously had the _time_ to choose her words, and she had been taught a great many things about writing formal letters. The bit of her training she was drawing on right now was the one that said that even the sharpest words, delivered correctly, would appear almost polite to anyone but their intended recipient.

She wondered, vaguely, whether Chloe would even read it. Who knew; she might even offer some kind of response to it.

Imagine it; Chloe walked up, with some carefully prepared line, calculated to draw blood.

What would she even say…?

Probably something about how Kagami should have kept them, as a matter of… personal hygiene? Mm… Then maybe add something about how it was pointless to send it back, since she was rich.

Kagami almost couldn’t help chuckling. She could _hear_ it.

And then… Oh, surely there was some ready response, even if it took her a second to find it when she wasn’t in the moment.

Oh, of course; all she had to say was that it was a matter of principle; not to return it would be tantamount to theft, even if it would be incalculably _petty_ theft.

As for the personal hygiene thing…

There had to be _some_ line she could say about how smelling sweet didn’t make anyone think she was anything but rotten inside.

Seriously; everybody already _knew_ she was Queen Bee, and they knew what she was really like, so what was the point of trying to smell like honey? Well… Kagami _assumed_ it was supposed to evoke thoughts of honey. All it _really_ seemed likely to do was make her more likely to get _eaten_ when there was an Akuma that did _actual_ zombies.

Hmm…

Actually, considering that, by Kagami’s limited pop-culture knowledge, zombies preferred actual _meat,_ Chloe would actually be in more danger from the kissing variety of zombies.

She shook her head.

This snappy response had gone off on a tangent, and had, as such, ceased to be snappy.

…

It was Tuesday.

Kagami had returned from school, from a thoroughly unsatisfying round of sparring; Adrien had done well enough, but her other enemies had seemed practically lethargic.

She still needed a shower, but…

Something at her desk caught her eye; a small package, with a letter attached.

Oh, this would be good for a laugh.

Package first or letter first?

Definitely package first.

Inside…

Kagami sighed, shaking her head, not quite able to help some tiny amusement.

It was the same shampoo bottle she’d sent to Chloe, down to the lower level inside, with, placed neatly around the opening…

A golden band, like someone might put around their wrist, or… No, wait, she remembered; Chloe used something just like this to keep her hair in its ponytail.

Kagami didn’t have enough hair to effectively keep it in a ponytail; certainly not with something so loose. This ‘gift’ was meant as a piece of useless metal.

And the message? She pulled it open, and saw, at the top, her own name, in what must have been Chloe’s best cursive; in fairness, she’d clearly been taught well.

_‘Kagami,_

_I hardly see the point in returning a set of items that were _clearly _meant as a generous gift, unless I have overestimated your to take the obvious hint that you could benefit from taking steps against the stench that I can only assume is the result of your compulsive fencing._

_Under the assumption that this is the case, I have taken the liberty of returning the shampoo, along with one of my signature hairbands, in the hopes that the next time I encounter you, you will smell better than you look._

_-C. Bourgeois’_

Kagami, who hadn’t even sat down, stood up straight again, laughing aloud at the insult, despite the fact that she hadn’t yet come up with a proper response.

‘Stench?’ And returning two items that were clearly meant to serve no greater purpose than to take up space in Kagami’s room, or else be thrown away, in clear violation of the etiquette for gifts.

Well…

Let Chloe offer her ‘useless gifts.’ Kagami had no intent of letting them be useless.

She grabbed the contents of the package, and set off towards the shower.

Time to brutally call Chloe’s bluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't quite mean to slam dunk both of these characters into, like, regency era high-class rivalry via correspondence, and, for that matter, I'm not 100% sure on how much more of it there's going to be, but boy howdy, did the manage to channel it this chapter.


	15. Further Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami pulls further away from her fight with Chloe, despite the voice in the back of her head that wants to fight on.

_‘Dear Chloe,_

_Your lack of subtlety in your insults is paralleled only by how ineffectual they are. If you truly wished to offer me something I could find no use for, then you should have reached further. For example; the package included with this message contains a bottle of what would appear at first to be shampoo, but is, when examined more closely, hair remover. Of course, I could simply leave you to read the label yourself, but frankly, I doubt your reading comprehension would be up to the challenge._

_I leave it to your limited discretion to find a use for it._

_Tsurugi, Kagami’_

Chloe’s face was going red.

It wasn’t because of the ‘useless’ gift, or the insults that the message was laced with, or… Any of that.

Kagami’s sharpest jab had come earlier in the day, and it had only needed two words.

_“Thank you.”_

_Chloe had stiffened; Kagami couldn’t have been more than a foot behind her and-_

_Chloe turned, and they were suddenly face to face._

_“For?”_

_Kagami’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest, still utterly devoid of emotion._

_“For the contents of the package you sent me.”_

_Chloe could almost have imagined that someone had been forcing her to say it, but… No. Kagami had used the shampoo, _specifically_ to spite her. Her hair had a fresh shine, and Chloe knew _exactly_ why._

_“Any time,” she said, narrowly mustering the presence of mind to be the one who turned away as if she didn’t care._

Kagami had been sharp, and cold. Now she was sharp, cold, and _polished._ Or… Well, her hair was probably in better shape than it had ever been in, at least. Chloe had learned from her mother the value of good haircare, which was to say, lucrative contracts and respect.

What it came down to was that she… She hadn’t expected Kagami to actually _use_ the shampoo.

Why, in retrospect, she couldn’t explain; Kagami was obviously self-assured, and maybe… Maybe Chloe hadn’t expected her to see what a fencer could need with good hair. That would make sense. After all, Kagami didn’t seem like the type to notice how far physical beauty could get you. She didn’t… Kagami’s bearing never_ suggested_ that she cared how anyone looked at her. Chloe doubted that she had even _realized_ that her hair looked different today.

Some corner of Chloe’s brain suggested if her experience in the garden had been bad before, it would be _nothing_ compared to a _prettier_ version of Kagami in the same situation.

Chloe turned the bottle of hair remover over in her hands, and frowned.

Of course, the problem was, that moment was seared into her head; she could still remember the particular way that a bit of Kagami’s hair had been tucked behind her ear, or the way her head had been tilted, as if appraising her.

She remembered it perfectly, but even as she mentally made adjustments, applied the changes to her hair, removed some of the grime from the fencing, changed the outfit from the clothes she had been wearing (certainly not suited for _public_ use) to something more… photo-shoot-worthy…

It barely seemed to make a difference.

If anything, it seemed to complicate the image.

Chloe grimaced.

_So, what? Kagami’s appearance wasn’t linked to her appearance?_

She rolled her eyes; the idea was utterly ridiculous. Besides, if that were the case, then the hair wouldn’t have felt like such a gut punch, and Chloe wouldn’t even have _noticed_ that she’d been wearing the hair band as a bracelet.

Well… Maybe it didn’t matter in the garden. Maybe when she was there, Kagami was always at her most beautiful.

…

Chloe leaned forward, letting her forehead fall into her hand, heedless of the fact that her expression would probably give her wrinkles, at this rate.

‘Most beautiful?’

Really?

Fantastic. Well done, Chloe.

_Literally_ calling one of your worst enemies beautiful. _That_ was the way to win this fight. Definitely.

_The point was, she couldn’t let Kagami get any more polished, or, at least, couldn’t afford to help her along._

\--

A day went past, and then a few more, as Kagami carefully avoided any contact with Chloe. Any interaction needed a _purpose,_ or else it ruined her attempt at starving Chloe of attention.

She smiled, as the thought occurred to her once again that she had finally found a way back to her original plan. Chloe fought tooth and nail for attention, so what better way to defeat her than removing it?

Kagami had known it all along, she’d just… gotten bogged down.

Another letter had arrived from Chloe, more of the same angry smoke and mirrors from before, and Kagami had taken the liberty of _not_ responding, resisting the urge to watch Chloe’s face for a reaction.

It wasn’t easy, but she’d finally broken away from her attempt to defeat Chloe directly, and paradoxically, was more successful than she had been the whole time they’d fought.

The satisfaction of it was just…

_Underwhelming…_

Ah.

Yes, of course.

All the success in the world hadn’t quite been able to stem that particular thought at the back of her mind.

Some part of her wanted to keep fighting.

Of course, Kagami had little doubt that, given time, things would fall silent again. Or, if they didn’t, she’d at least learn to quash her own desire to destroy.

_Not destroy. If she destroyed Chloe, then… No more Chloe…_

Well… Desire to fight, then.

Or… Well, of course, she was a warrior by training. A desire to fight was normal. All she had to do was make sure it was directed at someone else. Someone who _wasn’t_ Chloe.

And she would, of course.

She would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. Is everybody ready for a moderately long time acceleration? No? Too bad, we're doing it anyway.


	16. One False Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami finally gets around to trying some of the playlist that Adrien sent her, and finds a landmine waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter showed up a little late; I needed to make sure that I wasn't painting myself into a corner. But, after some work, I think this is solid to post.

She would be fine.

She _was_ fine.

That was what Kagami kept telling herself as the days slipped by.

She went to bed early, tore through homework, and remained unchallenged but for Adrien whenever she fenced.

A week went by.

Two weeks.

Three.

Since she’d first sparred Chloe, it had to have been… Not that it mattered, of course, but… two, almost three months, now. Adrien had first suggested it in early September, and it was midway through November, now.

Kagami felt as if it had been far longer, and yet, paradoxically, as if it had only been a few weeks.

Strange.

…

Kagami’s room wasn’t cold, of course, but… it wasn’t warm, either. No matter where she went in the house, the chill was lurking, just at the edge of her mind.

Once again left without sufficient work to occupy her time, Kagami sat alone in her room.

Her homework was long since done, unrepentantly simple as it was, and she’d already finished practicing her fencing. Again, unrepentantly simple. It seemed like even Adrien had been lacking punch today.

She could keep practicing, of course, but… well, something in the air today didn’t feel right for it.

She could call Adrien, of course, but… No, he’d be busy, right now.

_She could call Chloe?_

Kagami swatted the idea as if it was nothing more than an insect.

_Not Chloe, however satisfying she thought it might be._

But… Thinking of Adrien.

She let out a breath that for someone else might have been laughter; Adrien had sent her a small playlist.

Apparently _‘there was so much good music in the world that he didn’t know about,’_ before he’d started going to public school.

Kagami had _heard_ popular music, but none of it had seemed especially interesting to her. And, of course, Adrien was… softer, in that regard, never holding things to the same rigorous standards that she did.

But… It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do.

Now… What had he said?

Headphones. Apparently, these were best enjoyed with headphones, and he’d taken the liberty of giving her a pair.

She sighed, and tapped the link he’d sent her.

A list popped up.

She… perused.

_‘Heartbeat,’ ‘Beneath your Mask,’ ‘Flying Free,’ ‘Silver and Gold,’ ‘A Name Never Heard,’ ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ ‘The Marching Drums.’_

Sweeping, idealistic, flowery… She didn’t know what she’d expected Adrien’s music taste to look like, but it should have been this. The problem, of course, was that Kagami preferred the clean simplicity that she doubted any of these songs had. Not to mention that if the titles were to be believed, this playlist was largely love songs, which mostly left Kagami underwhelmed, even the ones where she liked the instrumentals.

_‘Say you do,’ ‘Take the Hit,’ ‘Controlled Chaos,’ ‘Hate.’_

Kagami tilted her head slightly at the last title, which was neatly sequestered in the middle of the playlist.

‘Hate.’ She had to wonder what a song with a title like that was doing in Adrien’s playlist.

She tapped it.

There was a single, clear note from a guitar, followed, almost hesitantly by another, and another.

To her surprise, in what she had to imagine was a throng of overcluttered songs, she’d found one that was pleasantly simple.

Her face didn’t shift, as the soft, careful notes continued.

Then, with a softness that meant she almost didn’t notice it, a woman began to sing, voice neither angry nor soft.

_‘I know. I’ve always known you hate me._

_And you don’t care if I know._

_I know you want to break me,_

_I’ve seen how far you’ll go.’_

Kagami leaned back.

_Ah._ _Then this was… the opposite of a love song? A song of heartbreak, perhaps._

She listened, letting her eyes close as the woman’s voice twisted melodically through her mind.

Maybe heartbreak… Maybe just someone with an irrational hatred.

The verse finished, and another began, and Kagami couldn’t help letting a trace of a smile through.

_‘You’ve tried to draw my blood,_

_you’ve tried to raise my ire;_

_To catch me in the flood,_

_To burn me in your fire,_

_But the worst you have can only make me smile._

_You cared enough to hate me.’_

Kagami’s eyes opened, and, as if in response to her unspoken question, the woman repeated herself.

_‘You cared enough to hate me._

_And that’s a love that I can’t buy.’_

Kagami pulled the headphones off, moving as if stung.

Actually, the air was fine for practicing today, she decided, putting down the headphones on her desk. After all, how better to stave off the chill in the air than with physical exertion?

She grabbed her foil, and set out for the training room.

…

Despite her best attempts, the precise, rhythmic movement of her foil in the air did nothing to calm her mind.

Every motion had been honed past where most professional, adult fencers would ever reach, but somehow, that fact offered her no comfort.

_How dare she?_

Not… The woman, whatever her name was, couldn’t have known the circumstances that her song would find Kagami in, but it still felt like a slap in the face.

_She had won. She was winning right now._ _Just because she’d cared enough to hate Chloe didn’t mean… that._

Her movements sped up further, only narrowly maintaining their level of quality.

And yet, despite focusing as much of her energy on her steps and her hand, thoughts still found their way in.

_She should never have let Adrien convince her._

_She should never have let Chloe come back after the first time._

_There was so much that she shouldn’t have done. Fine. She was admitting it._

_But the thoughts wouldn’t stop._

_No._

_No, the problem wasn’t that she thought the song had found something true…_

_She… She hadn’t thought that in the first place._

_The problem was just that Chloe might believe that vengeance was hatred, and hatred was caring._

_Chloe thrived on attention, and she believed that she’d secured some permanent residence in Kagami’s mind._

She jabbed out, and for an instant, it was as if the blade had landed perfectly on a fencer in yellow, and it was the hundredth victory in a row against…

Her hand _clenched_ on the hilt of her blade.

_She would be fine._

_She was fine._

_That was what she kept telling herself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagami would like everyone to know that she's only upset about the idea that she paid attention to Chloe, which constitutes a loss, and not about anything else. There is no separate idea that is messing with her mind, whatsoever.


	17. Unfracturing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami, forced into a tight corner by her own mind and the risk of Akumatization, is forced to pull herself together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a relatively short chapter, but that's because it's kind of a complement to the last one.

Kagami placed the foil on a bench, unable to even muster the thought to put it somewhere more appropriate.

She needed something. She needed something to clear her mind, but _what._ She needed _what?_

_Cold._ _She needed to be cold, if only to sap the burning in her face._

She pushed her way out of the room, thankful that people were only rarely in the halls, staggering almost blindly until she came to a door, and-

A blessed chilled struck her face, as she made it to the garden. Open sky above, and an almost painful chill on the wind, the garden was hardly green anymore, the grass faded, and the leaves almost all fallen.

She sucked in a deep breath, heedless of the ice it filled her lungs with, hands shaking.

_She would be fine._

_She was fine._

_That was what she kept telling herself._

She sat down heavily on the bench, not even feeling the chill soaking through her skirt.

This was… disgraceful. What kind of person let a single line in a song reduce them to this? A line that had little to do with reality?

Was she _so_ obsessed with victory over Chloe that the idea that at some point, she might have taken the wrong approach could do this to her? 

The idea was absurd.

Except, of course, for the fact that Chloe was still inside her head. Even as she carefully avoided interacting with her, everything she did was done with the thought that she needed to avoid paying attention to Chloe.

So, what? By no longer caring whether she won, she would win? By allowing herself to interact with Chloe, she’d be paying less attention to her?

Her hands almost clawed at her face, her expression twisting in barely controlled anger.

She looked up to the sky, as if in the vain hope that the cold wind would pull her thoughts away from her.

And then…

Something small and black was floating on the wind, coming closer.

_An Akuma._

Her train of thought seemed to slam into a brick wall.

An Akuma. Coming for her. This… All of it, it had put her in a place where Hawkmoth could make her serve him.

_Disgraceful._

She needed to pull herself together.

She needed… She needed to _stop hesitating._

She needed…

The Akuma was close, now.

Kagami forced herself to breathe slowly, clenched her fists, and then…

She stared down the butterfly, now mere feet from her face.

“_Go away.”_

It moved, almost uncertain, flapping near to her, but not quite touching her.

_“I said,”_ she said, _“Go. Away.”_

But… It didn’t.

_Of course it didn’t._

_However carefully she guarded it, she’d left an opening, and he’d always be waiting until she solved it._

She let out a breath, eyes closing for an instant, and then, slowly, opened them.

The Akuma was on her arm, and she could feel a strange pressure through her shirt, as if on her mind, growing stronger.

No.

She was cracking. She was…

She pulled in a shuddering breath as the pressure grew stronger, almost strong enough for her to make out the words in Hawkmoth’s voice.

She couldn’t let this happen, she couldn’t…

Her back pressed into the bench, as her head fell back.

The chill tore at her face, as she tried, ineffectively, to-

Her eyes opened wide, her breathing rapid.

She sat there, breathing, as the seconds passed, barely even noticing the Akuma slowly fly away.

She slowly let the breath out, leaning forward on the bench as if she’d just finished a round of combat.

That was it. That was the only way to fight off Hawkmoth; give him no opening, no hesitation.

So, fine; she would ignore Chloe. _Truly _ignore her_._ The only way to win was to stop playing entirely; and that meant no more contorting herself to avoid her.

_Who was Chloe? Just some girl in one of the other classes._

Now, it was time to get inside; it was cold out here, and however much character it built, she had no intention of getting frostbite.

Kagami stood up, feeling as if she was properly awake again, or as if a fog on her eyes had cleared.

Now… What did she want to do?

Well… Her mother _had_ mentioned that she needed to speak to her about something. There was an event next month; a new year’s ball, and she needed to be ready for it. More specifically, Kagami had a feeling that this had something to do with making sure she was ready to dance with Adrien.

Kagami smiled.

She was fine, now.

\--

_Well… Fine enough to keep Hawkmoth away for another day, at least._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA, the chapter where Kagami has a mental breakdown, and decides to try completely deleting her opinion of Chloe for her own sanity.


	18. Sinking into the Winter; Making it to the New Year's Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami feels that perhaps her mother has made a misjudgment, but as the days pass, she still cannot find the way to argue her case.

As a week passed, and then several more, Kagami realized that she needn’t have been so worried about boredom; the world, as it so often did, provided plenty to keep her busy. Dance lessons, for all she had never been a dancer, were… simple enough, and her mother was quite insistent that she take them regularly, and with all the care that she practiced her fencing.

If she had to guess, it was something about it being the new year; she didn’t ask Adrien about it, of course, but it was probably something like that absurd ‘New Year’s Kiss’ thing that some people apparently went in for.

Of course, Kagami had to restrain a slight annoyance at the fact that it was only simple because Adrien would be leading. She was pretty sure that _that_ little quirk was only as a matter of tradition, and didn’t take into account their particular… personalities.

By the end of the second week of practicing, Kagami had become annoyed at the repeated implication that she’d be the one _following_ in any relationship, and _especially_ in one with someone as… soft, and kind as Adrien. Among his many assets, Kagami would not have counted a _go-getter_ attitude as one of them, especially she wouldn’t have used that term_._

By the end of the third week, Kagami had started paying more attention to how her teacher led than how she should follow, which was easier than she’d have expected, since, after all, _following was simple._

As November’s chill sank inexorably into the raw _freeze_ of December, one of the coldest ones in a while, from what Kagami had gathered, she only narrowly managed to avoid broaching the subject with her mother.

The problem was that when her mother made choices, it was with the clear understanding that they were the _right_ choices. Therefore, if Kagami was going to bring her doubts up, she’d need to be able to make a case that her mother would listen to, and she wasn’t sure if she could _do_ that.

That meant that if she tried explaining to her mother… Well… Wasn’t there that saying? ‘Better to ask forgiveness than permission?’

She’d never liked that saying, but it had recently started sounding unnervingly useful.

Except, of course, she _could…_ just, do what she was apparently supposed to. It would, as she’d noted many times over, be _easy._

The days slipped by, and as winter break arrived, Kagami still didn’t have an answer.

She could have asked Adrien, but she could almost see his slightly abashed acknowledgement already. She knew the answer she’d get, and didn’t know how exactly it would help her. More to the point, it hadn’t even _officially_ been made clear that she’d be dancing with Adrien, so as far as Kagami knew, she technically wasn’t even allowed to _mention_ this to anyone.

Christmas came and went with as little fanfare as Kagami would have expected.

She should have expected the updated playlist from Adrien, since he’d spent a fair stretch of time after their sparring match on the 22nd asking whether she’d _liked_ any of it.

She… Appreciated that. The music was far more reliably palatable this time, too.

And…

Chloe had sent her a card, with a $5 gift card to a store that, after idle curiosity had gotten the better of her, turned out to be an _extremely_ mediocre clothing store.

Kagami had almost laughed, before experiencing a moment of cognitive dissonance as she tried to process whether it was more in line with her interests to be mildly amused by the ‘gift,’ or whether to ignore it.

Still, after a second, she had decided that it would be gone from her head sooner if she treated it with mild amusement, and then let it go.

It looked like Chloe really _had_ gotten better at giving truly _useless_ gifts.

\--

The 31st arrived, and Adrien was, frankly, a bit depressed.

Christmas had passed without even an Akuma to get him out of the house, which, of course… He didn’t _want_ Paris to be attacked, but it had been _days_ since he’d seen Ladybug, and he was starting to miss her. Then, of course, there was the fact that his friends were going to be over at Alya’s apartment for New Year’s Eve, and… even if Father probably wouldn’t have let him go, it would have been _nice_ at least to imagine that if this ball wasn’t happening…

Anyway.

If nothing else, Kagami would be there… And Chloe.

Of course… Adrien had kind of given up on that whole… _thing_ at this point.

They’d stopped sparring, and he hadn’t seen them interact with each other in the past month and a half, which he had to assume meant that whatever had happened, hadn’t gone so well.

He had Plagg, at least. Sure, he wasn’t exactly the _most _conversational, but if he saw Adrien was having a bad day, he had a knack for trying to lighten the mood a bit. Today, it had been by talking about the _real_ story behind the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Nonetheless, as Adrien had gotten dressed for the ball, which theoretically began at 7, and went past midnight, he had the distinctive impression that it was going to be a long, long night.

\--

Chloe sat down at her seat, which, despite being the same one Adrien was at, was still too far from him

It was 7:20, which meant, of course, that she’d arrived fashionably late, despite the fact that her father was supposed to make a speech, and had arrived far earlier.

Her mother would absolutely have arrived even later, so Chloe had no guilt whatsoever about it.

Unfortunately, even being fashionably late didn’t let her avoid the absolutely mind-numbing speeches and endless introductions that were part and parcel of high-class events.

First it was her father, and, of course, she’d heard the speech in bits and pieces a dozen times before. It was, to nobody’s surprise, bland, televised, and largely about how proud he was of Paris for making it through another year of assault. There was a personal thanks to the heroes of Paris, though he only referenced Ladybug and Chat Noir, which Chloe found a little bit questionable, since, after all, _she was also one of…_

Well.

Anyway.

Then, some man she didn’t recognize who was old beyond reason went up to the front and started droning on about the deep significance of the ball, and what the itinerary for the rest of the night was like, and…

Chloe tuned him out after he started talking about how much deliberation it had taken before they had decided that they were willing to let it be televised.

_Why, exactly, did anyone care? It was a ball. It was fancy. Yeah, it probably deserved to be televised, but at what point did you think it was so private that you might _restrict_ people from watching?_

_What was the point of being rich and/or famous if you just… never let anyone see you?_

Chloe, out of sheer boredom, pulled out her phone under the table, and…

At the rate things were going, it was going to be a long, long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Downsides of bypassing time, of course, is that you have to account for what's been happening in the meantime, which gets tricky, when most of what's happening isn't actually story-related.
> 
> Like, I could tell you that Akuma attacks get rarer in the winter, but that two of them still came dangerously close to the school, or that they missed days of school, but like... Kagami has been industriously ignoring Chloe.


	19. One Moment, at 11:10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really, that's what this whole chapter is about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A double-length chapter! I don't generally like to double up on the size, but I really didn't want to make another chapter that was just pure filler material between big events.  
Also, not gonna lie, finally writing the last line of this chapter was absolutely intoxicating.

“Well… She seems to be having a good time,” said Marinette, scrolling up through the messages that had gone out to most of the class.

It was coming up on 8, now, and about 10 minutes ago, there had come a rapid barrage of messages, followed by a slow stream, that had gone out to most of the girls in the class, from Rose, who, apparently, was having a great deal of fun watching the festivities.

Alya laughed. “Fancy clothes, and dancing to follow? I’m pretty sure that as far as she’s concerned, it doesn’t get better than that.”

Nino came back from the kitchen with a large plate of microwaved pizza rolls.

“What?”

“Rose is watching the rich-people ball,” said Alya.

“Oh, no kidding?”

“She seems to be having the time of her life doing it, too,” said Marinette, “although, I guess it’d be a bit more like _one of the times of her life,_ since… She watches this every year.”

“Oh really?” said Alya, still scrolling, “Oh, Marinette, you _did_ read the bit where she said she’d spotted Adrien, right?”

Marinette looked at her questioningly.

“Yes?”

“And she was talking about how _fancy_ he was, and how…” Alya trailed off.

“I mean… Yeah, I did see that bit…”

Alya raised her eyebrows.

“And you’re not bolting off to go see how he looks?”

Marinette was silent.

“Did you already check.”

“…Yes. And I’m _really trying not to panic over the New Year’s Dance thing.”_

“You know what, girl? I’m proud of you for that,” said Alya. “If you want my opinion, people put _way_ too much stock in that kind of thing.”

“Well, maybe Marinette won’t go get some pictures, but I’m definitely gonna,” said Nino, pulling out his own phone.

The other two gave him confused looks.

He shrugged.

“Listen, dudes, if you don’t get pictures of your best friend when he’s in a suit, and put penguin jokes as the captions, are you really friends?”

Alya and Marinette shared a glance.

Nino shrugged. “I dunno, man. Adrien likes puns, and I know for a fact he thinks the suit they’ve got him in is uncomfortable. So… Penguin jokes.”

“I don’t think it’s actually a tuxedo.”

“Possibly _off-brand_ penguin jokes,” said Nino, brow furrowing.

“Well what if we put _you_ in a suit, and let Alya give you a taste of your own medicine?”

“Nah,” said Nino, laughing. “Put Alya in the suit, put me in a dress. I can make penguin jokes about Alya, completely avoid return fire, and I’d probably confuse Rose, too.”

Alya laughed, and Marinette shook her head in amusement.

“I think you’re underestimating Rose.”

“Well, definitely the first two things, then,” he said, shrugging.

“I think I could make you forget to make penguin jokes,” said Alya, winking.

Nino nodded his head from side to side. “I’m not seeing a bad outcome here. You’re on.”

“Well, you’re welcome to commission me,” said Marinette.

“Aw, no discount for your friends?” said Alya.

“Absolutely not. It’s either a gift, or it’s full price. But I’d be happy to give you some free designs to consider.”

“Hit me with ‘em,” said Nino.

“Alright,” said Marinette, reaching into her bag for her journal, and making a show of taking out a pen.

Carefully, Marinette turned in the journal until she found a blank page.

A few seconds passed, marked only by the sound of pen on paper.

“Hm…” said Marinette, cocking her head, slightly.

“What is it, dude?” said Nino.

She looked up.

“How do you feel about miniskirts?”

\--

For Adrien, the hours seemed to drag, on and on.

The speeches, of course, had been basically like being back in school, and frankly, some of it made for an interesting look into the thought processes of some of Paris’ wealthiest people, which, despite being similarly rich, he didn’t usually understand.

Then, of course, the food came around, and unfortunately, _wasn’t_ served buffet-style, however much Adrien wished it was. It was good food, of course, but after how long he’d been waiting for it, what he really wanted was _more_ food.

It was enough to redouble his wish that he was spending the night with his friends.

Nathalie, of course, was sitting next to him, and if he was unsatisfied after the meal, he had to assume that it was worse for her, since she hadn’t even received a plate.

Then, of course, after the eating, there was about a half-hour where people just milled around, supposedly to talk, but in Adrien’s case, much more to take advantage of the snack bar for all it was worth.

He’d half-expected Kagami to come find him, but either she didn’t spot him, or she wasn’t looking, because he was left blissfully free to consume canapés, crackers, cheese, and all the punch he could get his hands on, and a bit extra for Plagg. Even Nathalie seemed to be busy carrying around the tablet with his father’s face on it, which meant Adrien had no supervision, for a very limited value of ‘no.’

By the time he turned around, finally somewhere approaching full, it was 9:55, and the band was getting into position. A space was being cleared for dancing, and Adrien had little doubt that that meant-

“Adrien,” said Kagami, laying a hand lightly on his shoulder.

He stifled a miniature heart attack, as he practically jumped to face her.

He hadn’t had a chance to see her until now, and…

Her dress was a deep, blood red, and she had an immaculately simple black jacket overtop of it, with her family crest done in white on one lapel.

Adrien, as a model, would probably have put her in a suit, if he’d been in charge of deciding, but… Well, it was Kagami, and they had at least given her a jacket.

“Hello Kagami,” he said. “You look great tonight.”

She smiled, gently. “You do too, Adrien.”

Adrien might have disagreed, but decided not to, since… Well, what good would it do anyone?

There was a long pause.

“So… I guess we dance?” he said.

“I assume so,” said Kagami. “I don’t see why else my mother would require I take lessons.”

Adrien laughed. “Yours too? Or… Well, not… Not my mother, but my father.”

“I understand,” she said.

They didn’t start immediately, and Adrien was grateful, even if he didn’t fully understand why. Maybe Kagami was also a bit uncertain?

And then, finally, as they’d stood there, barely conversing, for almost ten minutes, Kagami finally seemed to reach her tipping point, and took his hand, pulling him in as one song faded out, and another began.

There was a moment’s hesitation as they got ready, which was strange, especially for Kagami, but then…

She placed her hand on his shoulder, and he placed one on her waist, and he caught the tell-tale signs of… disappointment?

He didn’t know why, if she wanted to lead, she hadn’t, but… he _also_ didn’t know why he hadn’t placed his hand on her shoulder first.

Either way…

Adrien couldn’t quite feel good about this.

Of course, Kagami was beautiful, and he really did like her, but… He knew, guaranteed, that she wasn’t Ladybug, which meant that he was stuck with an insoluble discomfort at how their respective parents were pushing them towards each other.

And, of course, as if that hadn’t been enough, there was the whole _significance _attached to who you were dancing with at midnight. They _said_ that it was a good sign for your romantic relationship with that person, and Adrien wasn’t sure whether he really felt comfortable with that kind of pressure.

_Yet another reason why he’d have preferred to be spending tonight with his friends. Well… His friends who weren’t Kagami._

But… Well… Kagami _was_ his friend, wasn’t she?

There was nothing wrong with dancing with your friend.

Internally, Adrien let out a soft breath, and…

Tried to let go.

Tonight, he got to stay out late. Tonight, he got to spend actual, not-sparring time with a friend. He got to dance. He hadn’t had the chance to properly dance since Chloe’s party, which had been a long time ago.

That wasn’t so bad, right?

\--

The dancing had started around 10, and Marinette had tried, and failed, to keep herself from getting distracted from her high-stakes game of dominoes.

The problem, unfortunately, was Rose, who had started sending around messages about how great Adrien and Kagami looked as they danced together.

Marinette had looked down one minute, and… She hadn’t been able to keep herself from checking the live feed.

By the time she’d found the two of them in the crowd, she’d almost missed her turn; Nino had played a jack, which meant that he got to move one of the dominoes to a position of his choosing, regardless of whether it technically _should_ have been useable there.

Marinette was pretty sure these weren’t the standard rules, but took her turn anyway, before almost feverishly checking back in.

They _were_ dancing, but… That didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know.

She checked back in, of course, every few minutes but as the hour faded past, Marinette only succeeded in losing more games of whatever Lahiffe specialty she’d been roped into.

_Alya_ seemed to know the rules perfectly, but as 11:10 came around, Marinette had won exactly none of the 4 games they’d played.

It was at 11:15 that the messages started bombarding her phone again, faster than before.

_RL: oh my goddd_

_RL: guys you’ve got to see this_

_RL: its amazing!!!!!_

Marinette had blinked, but, assuming that Rose had to still be talking about the dancing, she quickly switched apps, and stared at the screen, searching for… Whatever it was that Rose had seen.

She didn’t need to look. The cameraman had apparently spotted what was going on, and had made the snap judgement to focus on it.

Her eyes widened.

“Dude? You gonna… Play?” Nino seemed to trail off at her expression.

Alya leaned over, craning her neck to see the screen.

“So… wait,” she said, blinking, uncomprehending, at the screen.

Nino, giving up on getting Marinette to play, joined the group.

“Huh.”

\--

It was… a few minutes ago. 11:07.

The first, and greatest problem, was that Chloe had been bored. She had been bored for hours, now, and even her phone wasn’t assuaging that issue. She hadn’t gotten to talk to Adrien. She barely knew _anyone_ here. _And, _she was a dancer.

That last point, theoretically, shouldn’t have been an issue in the slightest, except for the fact that she hadn’t gotten to show it off, but…

Well, suffice to say that to her own raw discontent, she was on the list of people that Rose’s frankly _infuriating_ messages went to.

Chloe had little patience for Rose on a _good_ day, but _today_, of all days, when she was _gushing_ about how Kagami and Adrien were ‘walking on air…’ 

For one thing, it was downright _inaccurate. _Chloe _knew_ ‘walking on air,’ and _that was not it._ For another, she had stopped mentioning Chloe after, like, _minute five_ of the dinner, which, like… _she deserved a couple extra mentions._

Well…

Hands clenched at her side, Chloe had seen Kagami and Adrien step out of the dance for a moment, presumably to take some drinks.

What she _wanted_ to do was start a fight, but even Chloe, with her raw confidence, knew better; it would be social suicide.

So, what? What was she supposed to do?

Her neck had to be solid steel, right now, as tense as it was.

And then…

As she’d seen them put down their cups, and start back towards the dancefloor, Chloe had practically shuddered, as she started moving almost unthinkingly after them. Technically, she should have thought her actions through, but the impulse had overwhelmed any sense of restraint.

She caught up to them as they were already back on the dancefloor a few feet, and, as they paused for an instant, readying themselves-

“Excuse me,” she said, her voice miraculously level, and even.

They turned, in unison, to face her.

It didn’t even sound like her voice.

“Do you mind…?” She let the question hang in the air, letting the context do her work for her.

The two of them looked at each other.

Chloe’s eyes flicked rapidly between their faces. Adrien was obviously uncertain, looking to Kagami for advice.

Kagami… Chloe could practically see the gears spinning behind her eyes, and then…

Almost imperceptibly, she shrugged, in a ‘why not,’ kind of way.

The two of them turned to face her, and Adrien said, a trifle uncertainly, “I… I suppose not?” his hands coming up slightly, ready to dance.

The grin spread across Chloe’s face.

“Good.”

She stepped forward, ignoring Adrien, and placed a hand on Kagami’s waist.

“Let’s dance.”


	20. A Dance Until Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami finally finds a battle to truly challenge her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side-note: I really wanted to call this chapter 'Float like Chloe; Sting like... Chloe"
> 
> Also, for best results please queue up the following song:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbcCG7PkI18
> 
> (Upon my oath, it's not another rickroll)

The almost imperceptible pressure on her shoulder, combined with the surprise of Chloe even stepping up to _her,_ meant that Kagami had followed her lead for a few seconds before she had even processed what was going on.

It took another second before the possibility that she _should_ be doing something occurred to her.

_“You shouldn’t have said yes,” said Chloe._

And then she realized; this was meant to be another act of aggression.

She spun, pulling out, and then back in, coming face to face with Chloe, who barely seemed to be watched the world around them, her expression showing nothing more than annoyed determination.

_‘Don’t ever touch me again.’_

Weeks of practice now betraying her, Kagami matched Chloe as they spun out at her raised hands, and as they pulled back into position, Kagami felt the unmistakable feeling of Chloe’s hand, pressing on her waist.

_‘Don’t ever talk to me again.’_

_“You can’t beat an expert with less than a month of practice,”_ said Chloe, and grinned with the vicious smile of someone who knew.

“I don’t how ‘beating’ you even comes into it,” said Kagami.

_‘Don’t ever look at me again.’_

Chloe seemed willing to do nothing else, and Kagami… Kagami didn’t even think that they were going to hit anything. Chloe’s expression was vicious, but her movements were smooth and confident.

“If it doesn’t matter,” said Chloe, and Kagami missed a breath as she was suddenly moving _forward,_ sliding in an angle around Chloe, “then were you trying _so hard _to beat me before?”

“Because I thought that I could make you stop,” said Kagami, “and now, I doubt you even know how.”

It felt like she’d very carefully disarmed, in the firm belief that it would make her untouchable. Now, she was unarmed against an enemy for whom it made no difference.

“And, if you won’t stop, then there’s no point trying to force you to.”

Chloe gave her a disbelieving look.

_“So you’re just… accepting defeat, then.”_

“I’m refusing to play your game,” she said, though she now doubted it would matter, “I don’t care about you.”

The words seemed to finally sink in. Their motion slowed to a halt, almost in the middle of the dancefloor.

“Well…” said Chloe, expression hardening, “you cared enough to _hate_ me.”

\--

As they paused, Chloe not even sure whether she cared enough _herself_ to lead them back to the edge, Kagami…

Her expression was completely blank, and then…

Chloe had meant to turn away, walk off the dancefloor, leave Kagami standing there for a second, but…

She felt Kagami’s hand shift on her shoulder as- No. Not shift. _Shake._ She still hadn’t pulled their hands apart, and… Kagami’s hand was trembling in hers, and then-

She almost _gasped_ as Kagami’s hand tightened, and the other slipped from her shoulder, to her waist.

Chloe looked back up, and as she met Kagami’s eyes…

She thought she’d seen Kagami _angry_ before.

She stepped back, as Kagami stepped forward, and the dance started again.

This was _thunderous._

This was _raw fury._

_This was exactly what she’d been looking for._

\--

He had been hired, theoretically, to film the ball, and record the speeches, but _mostly _what it had involved was an awful lot of just… pointing the camera at the podium… panning slowly, and largely thoughtlessly, across people while they ate…

Making sure he had a wide-angle lens focused on the dancefloor…

Of course, the music wasn’t _awful_ per se, and it had started to pick up recently, but as a man whose last dance had been in school, this was a _lot_ of rich people, and a _lot_ of people who were very carefully _not_ revealing any emotions.

And then, just as he’d been checking his phone, which had told him it was 11:13, he looked up, and saw…

There was a pair of dancers in the middle of the floor, who seemed to… _cut through._ People moved out of their way.

He perked up, slightly, and switched to a smaller-angle lens.

Find them, find them…

He could barely make out their faces, but…

Two girls were sliding through the crowd, one in a black dress with a red jacket, and the other…

Oh. Chloe Bourgeois. The hair was a dead giveaway, as was the dress; _gold,_ and cut so that it was longer in the back. It looked kind of like she was trying to be the bride at an event that didn’t have one.

They moved sharply, almost ricocheting as they spun, caught, practically gliding…

He couldn’t even tell who was _leading._

\--

Despite the fact that she had a winning hand, and the right dominoes, Marinette couldn’t stop staring at the screen. All the better, of course, that Alya and Nino seemed similarly frozen.

_‘They’re in love with each other,’ _Adrien had said, _‘Chloe probably doesn’t want to let anyone else know, and Kagami keeps everything hidden.’_

The way they were moving…

Marinette wasn’t exactly the most knowledgeable about dancing, but she knew what leading looked like, and she knew what following looked like, and this…

Wait…

She knew _something_ about dancing, but she also knew something about…

Fencing?

One person made a move, and if the other could defend against it, then they had a chance to respond…

Marinette stared down at the phone, and with that thought in her mind…

She remembered the first time she’d seen Adrien and Kagami fight.

Their motions had seemed erratic, and they’d paid no attention to the world around them.

And what she was seeing now…

It wasn’t fencing.

And it wasn’t dancing.

It was…

\--

It was exhilarating.

Even as Chloe had been leading without keeping her eyes on the way forward, Kagami had stopped caring about the ground the very instant she’d taken the lead.

For the life of her, she couldn’t have said how they’d avoided running into anyone, both because neither of them was watching, and because she _didn’t care._

Minutes slipped by, the only indication, to Kagami’s mind, Chloe’s jabs every time she made a slip, which, it turned out, was frequently.

_She’d hesitated too long in matching the movement. She’d spun hard enough that she’d fallen out of time with the beat. She’d almost pushed Chloe over in her ‘bumbling attempt to lead.’_

Kagami knew better than to really listen, and she _certainly_ knew better than to respond; every slip was wasted energy, and every response was wasted breath. To try some response to Chloe’s commentary would be to weaken herself.

She wouldn’t do that.

She _couldn’t _do that.

Kagami didn’t know if anyone was watching, and she didn’t care.

She didn’t know if ‘victory’ was a concept that made sense in a dance, or whether metaphors about combat were applicable, but she was _going_ to keep fighting, until Chloe ran out of energy, or the time ran out.

\--

_Until ‘time ran out.’ That was what Kagami had thought._

_Certainly, Chloe had no intention of giving up first, but…_

_Well, perhaps it was nothing._

_But, then again, as minutes passed, the time slipping away, as 11:15 because 11:30, became 11:50, midnight drew closer._

_They were, though they had no way of knowing, the most exciting sight this ball had seen in 5 years, and the most exciting since they had allowed it to be televised. Viewership was high, and, curled up on a couch with Juleka, Rose’s excitement was higher._

_11:55 came, and they didn’t notice._

_56._

_57._

_58._

_5-_

_\--_

There was a thick, powerful sound that thrummed through the whole hall, and Kagami, for the first time since she’d started dancing in earnest, remembered that there was an outside world. And, in that outside world, it was almost New Year’s. And, at _this particular New Year’s ball,_ the final minute before midnight, the band played something specific.

She’d been dancing for almost an hour.

She felt the breath rattling in her chest, and felt Chloe’s tiny _slips_ as her exertion finally began to take its toll.

She knew there had been something she was supposed to do.

She hadn’t been planning to dance with Chloe tonight.

_50 seconds._

Chloe had noticed the band as well, but, more to the point, she’d noticed Kagami’s momentary hesitation, and had taken the opportunity to take the lead.

_‘Until time ran out.’_ That was what she’d thought.

But… What time running out really meant, was…

_40 seconds._

Wasn’t there supposed to be some big significance to midnight?

She spun out, and for a second, she saw the room again, as a blur of lights and colors.

Then, with a dizzying motion, Kagami spun back, and—

_30 seconds_.

—she was face to face with Chloe again, and Chloe was playing her like… Like something.

_20 seconds._

It was too late, now.

If she’d really been supposed to dance with Adrien, it was too late, now.

_10 seconds._

The best she could do was try to end this dance in control of the situation.

She slid back, looking for a fumble, or any _miniscule hesitation, and-_

_The music grew louder in her ears as she realized that she was out of time._

With her last chance, she pushed forward, directly against Chloe’s momentum, and…

There was the sound of a bell, ringing, deep enough that it resonated in Kagami’s bones.

She was pressed up against Chloe, looking directly into her eyes. Her right hand, holding onto Chloe’s left, was burning hot, and starting to cramp slightly. For that matter, she could feel the warmth of Chloe’s breathing on her neck, as she looked victoriously up at her.

_“I win,”_ said Chloe, the words barely more than a whisper.

And… She had.

Kagami had lost. She’d lost the fight, and, more than that, she’d lost her will to _not_ fight.

She'd practically lost her will _to_ fight...

She’d expected to still be angry.

She’d expected for Chloe to grin, and gloat.

But Chloe, for an instant, didn’t seem… _prideful._ She seemed _confident, _her expression showing nothing more or less than total self-assurance.

And Kagami…

The sensation she felt towards Chloe, for this strange, still moment, wasn’t anger. It wasn’t a desire for a rematch.

It was…

It…

Kagami leaned forward towards Chloe, not quite sure what conclusion she’d come to.

And then the window had shattered, and as a vengeful Akuma burst into the room with a wave of bitter cold, the impulse snuffed out like a candle.

_For now…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That marks the end of Arc II. (Which, as you might guess, means that Akuma isn't actually going to show up in person)
> 
> I hope the 20-some of you guys are enjoying my attempts at tension.


	21. Too Tired to Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At 2 AM, Chloe comes back to her room, hoping to sleep and put an end to this Ridiculous night.
> 
> Her mind refuses to comply.

It was just after 2 when Chloe staggered into her room, and that was _AM._

Normally, after getting home, she’d have pulled out her phone, scrolled through whatever feeds sounded worthwhile, and just generally relaxed.

Tonight, though, she fell directly onto her bed, not bothering to change into pajamas, and, for that matter, not even bothering to wrap the blankets around herself.

From how _bone tired_ she was, she’d have expected to pass out instantly, but…

Her mind was still living two hours in the past.

_She’d won._

Kagami had practically _admitted_ it, and…

And…

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut, as if to dispel the thought that had softly appeared in her mind.

_And she had been leaning forward to… whisper something in her ear…_

And, apparently, she hadn’t decided which ear to whisper it in.

That had to be… That had to be what had happened.

Chloe groaned, rolling onto her back.

She’d have _known_ it was true, if that Akuma hadn’t…

Her fists clenched at her side.

_Excuse you_, Hawkmoth, she had been in the middle of _winning?_ She’d been having the best night of her life, and then, just as she’d been about to… About to laugh off Kagami’s comeback, a giant _monster_ had shown up.

Yes, of course, Chat Noir had almost instantly been on the scene, and Ladybug had followed a minute or two later, but…

The whole thing left a bad taste in her mouth, and the only way to wash it out…

Chloe crumpled in on herself, holding her head in her hands.

_“Shut up.”_

Obviously, she was tired, and that was _messing with her brain._

She needed…

She reached down, and pulled out her phone.

This.

She could bask in her glory tomorrow, when her mind had stopped being _insane._

She unlocked her phone, and…

Where to go?

30-some notifications in her texts?

She tapped.

_‘_ _RL: oh my goddd_

_RL: guys you’ve got to see this_

_RL: its amazing!!!!!’_

She scrolled.

_‘RL: Chloe’s dancing with Kagami!!_

_RL: They look so cute!’_

She recoiled as if stung, and closed the app.

_Shut up, Rose._

Okay, no, she had… some news apps?

She tapped the icon.

_‘Akuma ‘Moonlighter’ attacks new year’s ball at midnight!’_

That was more like-

Her eyes caught on the next article down, and…

_‘The Belles of the Ball?’_

Next to the title, there was an image of her, with… Kagami… And, the moment they’d taken the pictures, the raw fury wasn’t coming through properly, which made it look like…

Well… There had been an Akuma, right? Surely, whatever rumors they’d managed to spin, they’d be lost in the excitement of an attack, right?

Even as she thought it, Chloe knew that it was too much to hope.

She tried to hit the _back_ button on her phone, but when she looked back down-

_‘The New Year’s Ball is boring._

_Why? Imagine taking a 20-minute fashion show, and some mediocre dancing, and making that the _entirety_ of your excitement for a full five hours. That’s the ball in a nutshell.’_

Chloe involuntarily let out a tiny laugh, and… What the hell, she needed to know what she was up against.

_‘The worst part, of course, is that everybody there is so absolutely consumed by what everyone else thinks of them that they don’t have any fun; seriously, watch the dancing. Some of those songs were honestly pretty dance-worthy, but what did they do? They did, like, ballroom dancing, for _everything._ I swear to you, I could have krumped to a handful of those songs, and truth be told, I have._

_But you all clicked here for the title, not for me to talk about my dancing.’_

There was that same picture, and Chloe grimaced, but… She hadn’t gotten to the point, yet.

_‘I’m pretty sure _everyone_ recognizes Chloe Bourgeois at this point; if the mayor isn’t talking about her, she’s making a name for herself as the girl who has the most verified Akumas attributed to her (as well as being Queen Bee). The other girl is Kagami Tsurugi, who has _not_ made as much of a name for herself. Really, the only information I could dig up, was that she’s a world-class fencer, and that she was the Akuma ‘Riposte.’ (Thank you @SunFlowers for your comment telling us her name)_

_There are links to the videos below, but for those of you with awful internet, let me explain:_

_The ball was going as boring as ever, and then _these_ two show up. The short version is, they’ve got _ridiculous_ chemistry. I’m talking mentos in soda kinds of chemistry. I’m talking _thermite_ chemistry. I’m talking ‘I’ve never danced with someone like that’ kind of chemistry. Hell, I’m talking ‘I’m not sure I’d _survive_ dancing with someone like that’ kind of chemistry.’_

Chloe grimaced.

She _had_ kind of wanted to show off her dancing skills, but she _really_ hadn’t considered this as an outcome.

_‘Now, there’s a pretty obvious conclusion to draw, here, and I’m just gonna come out and say it; they’ve got to be together. If you look at the video at _exactly_ midnight, I defy you to look at Kagami, and tell me that she wasn’t about to kiss Chloe._

_Honestly? I’m conflicted, because I’ve never been a big fan of Chloe, but the whole video was pretty-‘_

_Shut up._

Chloe backed out of the article, and…

And what? What was she supposed to do?

She’d won her fight, and all that had happened was that people had come to the utterly _ridiculous_ conclusion that she and Kagami were… Together?

The idea made her _sick, _literally seeming to twist her stomach, making her shiver.

_Good grief, just imagine it._

_No. No, that hadn’t been a command, that hadn’t-_

Chloe swore aloud, trying to jerk away from the image in her head.

She didn’t want- No! No, that wasn’t- If _real_ Kagami ever saw the version that had just shown up in Chloe’s head she’d… Probably _actually_ laugh at her, and Chloe-

Chloe _really_ needed to fall asleep, because right now, the idea of Kagami laughing at her didn’t even sound that bad.

_She needed to sleep._

_She needed to sleep, and wake up in the morning, and she’d be able to laugh at how ridiculous the thoughts burning in her head had been, and she’d be able to calmly and coolly plan her next move and above all she wouldn’t have the absolute delusion that Kagami had somehow turned out to actually be her girlfriend._

At this point, it felt like an eternity ago, but Chloe had thought, back at the ball, that it was going to be a long night.

She’d been right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's time for New Year's Resolutions... Maybe resolve not to fall in love with Kagami?
> 
> I wanted to include this in a previous chapter, but I never actually managed to find a spot where it fit.  
I think I finally found the place.
> 
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a4/b1/23/a4b123e38342bba4b53f94c368d77fe0.gif


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabrina puts up with a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a delay on this one, but that's largely because I have a pretty solid idea of where I want to be, but much less idea of how to get there.

_“It’s utterly ridiculous,”_ said Chloe, for the 5th time that day. “Honestly, the idea that _anyone_ could even _imagine_ I’d feel like that about her! I- _Ridiculous!”_

She idly spun the bracelet that Chloe had given her; Chloe had a seemingly endless supply of energy when it came to vigorously denying _any_ romantic affiliation with Kagami, and Sabrina had realized about 20 minutes in that what Chloe was actually _after_ was somebody in the same room to vigorously deny _at_.

“Ridiculous,” she agreed, wondering if Chloe would notice if she pulled out her phone.

“And the idea that someone would react to all of my insults by _falling in love with me?_ Hah! _As if._ I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m a very loveable person, but when I make someone my enemy, they _stay_ my enemy. Look at Dupain-Cheng! We’ve been fighting for _years_ now, and does _she_ show any signs of falling in love with me? No! No, she, doesn’t.”

Sabrina, if she’d thought Chloe would have listened, might have suggested that Chloe had never made her animosity towards Kagami especially _public,_ and _that_ was why people had drawn different conclusions.

Similarly, if she’d been particularly… _confident,_ she’d have pointed out to Chloe that denying that you were intimidated by how strong and collected someone was… Well… Suffice to say that Chloe had made similar statements about Ladybug after the whole ‘Miraculer’ fiasco.

Sabrina sighed, as Chloe looped back to muttered comments about what _exactly_ she thought about the time Kagami had _something something something…_

It had been a long few months for Sabrina; Chloe had always had a penchant for drawing conversations back to being about whoever she was angry at, and she hadn’t been able to keep her mind away from Kagami for so long that Sabrina, by now, was almost hopeful that Chloe _would_ fall in love with her, if only so she could get some peace and quiet.

Sabrina wondered, vaguely, if Chloe actually knew what being in love felt like. Had she ever _been_ in love? Or did she _think_ she’d been in love, when in fact she hadn’t, and…

_Sabrina_ was familiar, of course, and there had been plenty of times in her life when the idea of Chloe _actually_ having fallen in love with someone else would have crushed her. Right now… Well, she probably wasn’t going to get Akumatized over it. That was probably about as good as she could ask for.

Sabrina sighed.

She knew that she was the only person Chloe could talk to about this, but…

_“-which means she must have thought she had some chance dancing against me; can you imagine being that arrogant?”_

“I really can’t,” said Sabrina, as her mind wandered.

_“Not just against me, but on TV? She should have been running away!”_

Sabrina spun the bracelet, watching the colors blur.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” she mildly agreed. “I’m sure you’ll-

There was a knock at the door.

They looked up, and after a second, Sabrina had the presence of mind to snag the bracelet before it spun off the table.

_“Yes?”_ said Chloe, audibly annoyed.

“Miss Chloe?” said Jean, poking his head around the door, “a message has arrived for you. I had assumed you would want it brought up.”

Chloe scoffed.

_“Obviously. _Bring it here_.”_

As Jean stepped lightly over, Sabrina was struck by a sudden premonition that she could guess, if not the contents of the letter, then its sender.

Chloe snapped the paper out of his hand, flipped it to the back, and…

Sabrina had been right.

Surprise, then excitement, with just a tinge of a blush, and then _immediately _covered by anger.

“So Kagami’s sending you letters again?” she said.

Chloe snapped to face her.

_“What?”_

“Oh! Sorry, I thought it was her.”

“I… Obviously. Who else is so cowardly that they’d send me a _letter_ rather than saying what they wanted to say face to face?”

“Mmm…” said Sabrina, knowing better than to offer an answer.

There was a long second, as Chloe stared down at the envelope.

Then… She very slowly reached down, and put it in her pocket, with a motion that to Sabrina’s untrained eye, could have been the embarrassment one might have treated an unexpected love letter with.

There was a long, awkward silence.

“So…” said Sabrina, eventually, “I don’t suppose you came up with another villain for Jean to play, over winter break?”

\--

_‘Dear Chloe,_

_I apologize for not responding to your Christmas gift in time. It was only because you flaunt your wealth so blatantly that you leave nothing for other people to give you. While I could not find anything suitable, I offer you this, in the hopes that my intent at least may be clear._

_Perhaps you will use this to purchase something to match your bitter, blackened heart._

_-Tsurugi, Kagami’_

Enclosed, there was a gift card for what appeared to be a coffee shop.

Lying in her bed, Chloe ran a finger along the edge of the card.

Kagami had sent this to her.

Some time in the past few days, Kagami had decided that what she really _ought_ to spend a few minutes on was stopping in somewhere, and getting a gift card.

She had to have been planning it, too… That line sounded premeditated.

For an instant, Chloe could imagine Kagami looking down at the card, and giving that tiny, triumphant grin, as she concluded that she’d found just the thing to annoy her. Her finger twitched as she ran it across the smooth, plastic face of the card. There was something hot, bubbling up in her stomach.

Anger.

It… It had to be anger. Nothing else made sense.

That was why the whole situation turned her whole body warm.

_That_ was why the idea of going back to school tomorrow made her twitchy and anxious. She just… didn’t like waiting, before a fight.

That had to be it.

It had to be.


	23. More Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami is worried that she's becoming what she swore to destroy.  
Chloe considers an invitation.

_‘Dear Kagami,_

_The fact that you think I would drink black coffee just goes to show that for all the time you’ve spent uselessly trying to knock me down, you still don’t understand who you’re up against. Worse still, you’ve failed to take your own obvious advice about not giving your enemies gifts that they can use._

_I can’t even tell if you’re really dumb enough to forget it, or if you’ve just completely given up after I showed the world exactly how outmatched you are at dancing._

_-Chloe’_

It was the 6th of January, as Kagami stared down at the letter.

The content itself was far from exciting, but it still raised Kagami’s heartrate.

Yesterday had been the first day back to school, and Kagami hadn’t known what to expect. Chloe hadn’t usually interacted during school, but _usually_, she hadn’t just… won.

Kagami was still hazy on what it meant to ‘win’ a dance, and wasn’t sure that the phrase would mean anything to someone that hadn’t danced with Chloe, but she _did_ know that Chloe _had_ won… Kagami had thought, maybe, that Chloe would take that as a sign of triumph, and try…

She didn’t know what she’d thought Chloe might try.

The point was, she _hadn’t_ tried anything.

Chloe had left her well enough alone, and Kagami had, for a second, thought that she might have decided that if she’d won, the fight was over, and…

The idea twisted her stomach, pulling at her mind.

_She didn’t want to stop fighting._

She didn’t want to stop fighting, and she didn’t know how to feel about that fact.

What she _wanted_ to feel was… shame, or, if it came right down to it, _not like she did._

And what she felt, was… Excitement.

As strange as it was to say, she was having fun, and worse… When Chloe hadn’t done anything, she’d almost been scared.

She’d become what she’d meant to destroy. She’d become the aggressor, without even the fight she’d been looking for.

Over the past two days, the idea that, somehow, Chloe had switched places with her, and she’d been left stranded had twisted through her stomach, and…

But then this letter had arrived, and her heart had jumped almost shamefully in her chest as she narrowly resisted the urge to instantly tear it open.

But no.

She wouldn’t just…

No.

She would wait, put it on her list of things to do, and _do it then._

She’d made it through the her first few homework assignments before the envelope had weighed so heavily on her mind that she’d… _made the executive decision_ that it could afford to be moved up a few timeslots.

And now, despite her best efforts, a smile had crept onto her face. She couldn’t muster the presence of mind to be offended or angry, because…

Slowly, carefully, she removed the smile from her face, as she remembered that she wasn’t even supposed to _want_ to fight.

What would her mother say?

If Kagami had thought that she might not have noticed the fencing, she could hardly _hope_ that she’d missed the dancing; she’d been _there,_ for the whole hour, and for all she was blind, she was more observant than the average person.

Kagami had half expected a stern conversation about proper behavior, but… it hadn’t come, and that was almost more worrying.

So, for now, she was stuck, grappling with her own confrontational impulses, with no end in sight.

Now.

If ever there was to be a good step towards regaining control of herself, it would be to _not respond_ to this letter.

\--

_‘Dear Chloe,_

_I’m not surprised that you don’t drink black coffee. That’s why I didn’t make the possibility a statement of fact. Actually, I would be surprised if you _did_ drink anything bitter. After showering, you smell sickeningly sweet, and with your personality, which is only sweet until you open your mouth, you bear every sign of a girl who cannot find any value in eating something that is not immediately gratifying._

_As for giving gifts that you can use, I have no doubt that you can use the card, but I have even less doubt that the tiny sum the card is good for matters to you in the slightest. All you will have achieved by using it is that you have gone out of your way solely to use it up._

_-Tsurugi, Kagami.’_

Chloe put the letter down.

“Huh.”

That was… The first paragraph had felt like a gut punch, because, unfortunately, Kagami had her there; she didn’t like spicy foods, or bitter foods, or even, really, _sour_ foods.

The second paragraph, of course, had been run-of-the-mill; she could probably find some response to that.

Then, on the reread…

_‘After showering, you smell sickeningly sweet.’_

It was a strange detail to bring up, and one that, in a strange way, hit even deeper than the insults.

Had Kagami been paying attention? Or… Did she really smell that strongly? Why did it even matter?

It _did_ matter, was the problem, and Chloe didn’t want to think about why, because… Because the only reason someone’s opinion would matter would be if you cared what they thought, and Chloe made a habit of not caring what _anyone_ thought of her, and, most importantly, if there was one person she _really_ wanted to disregard the opinion of, it was _Kagami._

That was what this whole thing had been about.

She’d been… She’d been trying to prove to Kagami that she didn’t answer to her.

Except, of course, Kagami hadn’t… backed down, properly, and Adrien had realized, and…

Even months later, she still hadn’t asked Adrien who he’d wanted to win, in their fights. Kagami had been as sure that it had been her as Chloe had been that it wasn’t.

And now, of course, it was far too late to ask, and…

Chloe sighed.

Of course, of all the times she _could_ have asked, now was better, since Adrien had sent her a text just earlier today, but… Still, too late.

And, more to the point, she was more concerned about the message itself…

_‘AA: I’m going to be in a fencing tournament on the 24th, and I just thought I’d let you know._

_AA: You know, since you’ve learned a lot about fencing since the last time you came to one of them._

_AA: I thought you might find it more interesting than last time :)’_

Chloe… She’d been bored, the last time that she’d taken Adrien up on the offer, but this time…

Maybe she should give it another shot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is, hands down, the most useful plot device in this whole story.


	24. Dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami gets absolutely gut-punched.
> 
> Chloe has much to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be a pretty long one, this time, and, with luck, it'll make a few of you go absolutely feral.

_‘Dear Kagami,_

_How dare you try to imply that I have anything less than the utmost ability to stomach unpleasant things when I need to. If I didn’t, I would never have even considered stepping into your house, and I _definitely_ wouldn’t have been willing to dance with you. If you really want to remind yourself what I’m capable of withstanding, then by all means, I’ll grab my foil and drag you a bit closer to losing to me at fencing, too._

_In fact, I think you already know how much I can put up with, since I can only imagine that your refusal to fight me stems from the fear that sooner or later, I would surpass you._

_And just so we’re clear, I would._

_-C. Bourgeois’_

_\--_

_‘Dear Chloe,_

_I’m not surprised that you took offense to an insult I didn’t make. I didn’t say or imply that you couldn’t put up with difficulties outside of your food. If you took offense at the idea, I can only assume that it’s because of your own self-doubt._

_As for why I refuse to fight you, I assure you, it’s not because I believe you would ‘surpass me.’ In reality, it’s because you are beneath me, and I see no reason to humor you by allowing you into my house. What would I gain by fighting you, except for a pointless drain on my time? How much would I improve by fighting a girl who had only been fencing for a few months, when I have been fighting since I was a child?_

_More to the point, even if I could find some gain in fighting you, it would be vastly overshadowed by the option of facing off against any number of far stronger opponents, who would actually challenge me._

_-Tsurugi, Kagami’_

_\--_

Kagami was in… a bit of a state, when she got home, and the reason, as always, was Chloe.

In the past few days, presumably since Kagami’s letter had arrived, she’d seemed practically incapable of doing anything but staring daggers at her. It seemed like every time she stepped out of a classroom, she only needed to tilt her head, and there, in the corner of her vision, would be Chloe.

Kagami had enjoyed it. The idea of Chloe staring at her with all the fury she could muster was… satisfying.

And then…

\--

_She’d been in her car on the way home, earlier today, when she’d found the article that Chloe had been unable to miss when she’d gotten home on New Year’s. By some terrible twist of fate, it had been on her recommended page._

_She’d seen the picture, read the title, and almost hadn’t comprehended what she’d been looking at._

_She’d clicked, in almost horrified fascination, and…_

_She hadn’t felt anything as she’d read the article, nor, indeed, as she’d clicked the ‘back’ button. She had stared, numbly, at her computer screen until her fingers, seemingly by themselves, clicked into the search bar and typed ‘Kagami Tsurugi Chloe Bourgeois.’_

_The top result was the article she’d just read, followed by a few more just like it. None of them, when she’d read through them, seemed to have any particular basis in reality, and all of them, without fail, showed that same picture from the moment just after midnight, when…_

_That was when the numbness had vanished, with all the subtlety of a battering ram punching directly into her stomach._

_She didn’t know if she’d purposefully forgotten about what she’d been thinking, or whether it had simply been lost in all the excitement, but it was back now._

She’d been about to kiss Chloe.

_As the thought appeared in her mind with an ease that suggested it had just been buried, her face had almost instantly flushed, bright red, and she’d pulled herself back into the corner, in the hopes that her driver would have less of a chance of looking at her._

_She had stared at her phone, hoping that somehow it would turn out that she’d just misread something on her phone, which had put the idea in her head, or…_

She’d been about to kiss Chloe.

_The thought had pounded in her head like a heartbeat, or a headache, and even as she’d carefully kept her motion composed on the way back to her room, she couldn’t quite lift her eyes from the ground, for fear of someone catching sight of her face, or, perhaps out of shame at the fact that she had so little control over her own thoughts._

_She shut the door behind her, and, not even looking around, dropped into her chair._

_\--_

She leaned back in her chair, the heels of her hands pressed into her forehead, hoping that _somehow,_ she could force the thought to resolve itself into something else.

But nothing happened.

Seconds passed, and then minutes, and she finally opened her eyes again, and…

There was no apt description for what she felt when she saw the envelope on her desk, unless it be the existential dread that most people would treat an eldritch abomination with.

She stared, and, for a long second, her mind seemed frozen, whether by terror or something else, she didn’t know.

Finally, with a shaking hand, she reached out, and slipped a thumb under the flap of paper holding it shut, barely even wincing as the paper cut her enough to draw blood.

Slowly, she extracted the letter.

_‘Dear Kagami,_

_Who, exactly, says I’m not a challenge? I’ve hit you. You know, for a fact, that I’ve hit you. So please, tell me where exactly you get the nerve to talk about me like I’m some easy win._

_I would have expected you would have learned by now that treating me like anything less than your biggest threat is not an option. Ignoring me is not an option. If you think that the New Year’s Ball was a one-time thing, then you’re even dumber than I thought._

_You’re going to lose this fight, Kagami. Maybe when your back’s to the wall, you’ll understand that._

_I’m going to find out._

_-C. Bourgeois’_

‘_If you think that the New Year’s Ball was a one-time thing…’_

_‘You’re going to lose this fight…’_

Kagami knew, of course, that on some level, Chloe had no idea what _exactly_ was going on inside her head, but right now, it felt like her mockery was jabbing at something deeper than usual, and the idea…

She felt sick.

_\--_

The first thing Chloe noticed as she picked up the envelope was… It wasn’t quite right. That was to say, the fold of paper that was meant to hold it in place was… less perfect than usual?

It was improperly sealed, was the point.

She opened it, and, extracting the letter inside, almost thought that this must have been from someone else.

The handwriting was… off. Kagami’s handwriting, as she’d learned, was thin, and precise, all sharp corners and careful lines.

This… This wasn’t, exactly. The writing looked like she had been… Tired? It seemed like she hadn’t been as composed as usual. There was a faint, brownish smudge, that looked like it could have been long-dried blood.

Chloe would almost have thought that this wasn’t Kagami’s writing, yet, at the bottom, it was still her name.

She looked back at the top, and started reading.

_‘My Dear Chloe,_

_Where has Queen Bee been when the heroes needed help? Why have they only called on her when they can’t afford to leave even the smallest asset off the table? I believe it’s for the same reason that you are incapable of acknowledging even the slightest possibility that you’re anything less than a goddess in human form. You truly believe you’re better than anyone else, and it makes you think that setbacks are coincidences, and successes are natural._

_You have not won. You will never win, and your assertions about being my biggest threat are, to use your favorite word, _ridiculous._ You are far more of a nuisance than you are a threat, and in large part, the reason you are annoying is that you completely refuse to accept your circumstances._

_You say that I’ll ‘understand’ when my back’s to the wall. You have no idea what you’re talking about. If you continue to force my hand, I’ll put _ your _ back to the wall, and teach you a lesson that might finally shatter your pride for good._

_ Kagami _ _’_

Chloe’s brow furrowed, as she scanned down the letter.

Parts of it seemed familiar, like things that Kagami would have said anyway, but parts of it…

Take the handwriting, for example. Kagami didn’t underline things. Her handwriting should have been better.

And the bit about Queen Bee… She could be offended about it in a minute, but right now, it was just _weird._ Kagami had never brought it up, and…

It felt like Kagami had grabbed whatever she could find and just _flung_ it at Chloe.

She put the letter down.

She’d _seen_ Kagami today, right? She’d seemed… Normal? Of course, it was hard to tell, since she was always so expressionless, and, of course, it was the 24th, so she had that _tournament_ tomorrow, but still, if anything, she’d seemed _less_ inclined than usual to return Chloe’s stare.

That didn’t seem right, if she was really that angry over the letter.

So… What?

Chloe scanned the letter again.

Again.

And…

She’d almost missed it, eyes focused on the words below, full of fury.

At the very top…

_‘My Dear Chloe.’_

She stared at the paper.

That…

Chloe furrowed her brows, and went to pull out one of Kagami’s older letters.

_‘My_ Dear Chloe.’

There was something strange about that. It was at odds with the rest of the letter, and it didn’t match the others she’d sent.

_‘My_ Dear Chloe.’

It was…

When she’d said just, ‘Dear Chloe,’ it had seemed perfunctory. That was just the way that _polite_ people started letters. _Anybody_ would have ignored it, but… ‘My.’

The rest of the letter seemed to fade into a blur, as she stared at the top of the letter.

It… If she hadn’t known better…

It was clearly meant as a… a condescending insult. ‘My dear’ _was_ the kind of thing you’d call a child, wasn’t it?

Yeah…

Yeah, that was it.

This was just another insult.

Well… Chloe knew how to handle insults.

Now… she just needed some paper.


	25. Day of the Tournament (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the day of the tournament, Kagami feels ready to take on any challenger. However, her day might be about to get... a lot more interesting.

It was, frankly, a good day for a tournament, which was to say, it was _busy._ With the rush of new material they were learning, Kagami barely had time to even think about the matches she’d have to face later. That, of course, meant no nerves (not that she would have gotten nervous anyway) and no time spent getting frustrated that she couldn’t run through her techniques properly.

In short, as the school day wound down to a close, she was approaching her oncoming battles with all the composure in the world. It was going to be a double elimination tournament, which, frankly, suited Kagami fine; she didn’t plan on letting it affect her experience, anyway, since, after all, she didn’t intend to lose even once.

Stepping out of class with all the confidence in the world, she ran an eye over the courtyard, where, even in the icy weather, they were setting up the matts.

She didn’t shiver, but she couldn’t deny the chill, and decided that, even if she didn’t want to get ready early, staying in a locker room would probably just be an all-around better option. Besides, she wanted to check in with Adrien.

She realized her mistake as soon as she saw Chloe.

She should have known. She _had_ known; Chloe and Adrien were in the same class, so _of course,_ they had the same locker room.

She turned, making for where she knew Adrien’s locker was, but, of course, he wasn’t there, since he was probably getting dressed right now.

She knew, with a sinking certainty, that she didn’t have an excuse not to interact, and, worse, _there were other people in here._

This time one week ago, she’d have been all too willing to tear into Chloe directly (albeit a little wary of letting out her anger in front of everyone else). This week, however… She felt her face burning at the mere thought of talking to her.

It wasn’t even that she _agreed_ with the thought that persistently rose in her head whenever she happened to see her, it was just that it… It was _there_, _constantly,_ and she couldn’t get rid of it.

She wondered if, maybe, this was a purposeful move by Chloe to cripple her, but…

“Hello, Kagami,” came Chloe’s voice from behind her, and, for once, she sounded almost polite.

Kagami knew that _that_ had to be an act.

She turned, and forced herself to meet Chloe’s eyes, however badly her face was burning.

“Hello, Chloe,” she responded, very carefully _not_ looking at the girl off to her left who had turned to look, only catching sight of, her heart sank, an envelope in one hand.

“You know,” said Chloe, her head tilting away in that maddeningly _cocky_ way, “I’m _glad_ I got to see you before you have that tournament. I’d been _hoping_ you’d get to read this before you went out there.”

She proffered the letter, and Kagami, with no socially acceptable reason to turn it down, took it.

“Now,” said Chloe, smiling, “have fun out there. I’ll be watching.”

And, so saying, she turned, and walked away, leaving Kagami standing there, with only the letter.

She stared, trying, with her not-insignificant self-control, to steady herself.

_Where was Adrien? Surely he should be almost done by now?_

Keeping her expression carefully calm, she looked around, and-

She almost _jumped_ as she realized that the girl who had been watching was right next to her, staring wide-eyed at the letter.

Bright blonde hair, massive blue eyes, and an outfit that could best be described as excessively pink.

She… She knew this girl’s name, right? She was the one who hung out with the girl who was basically her exact inverse, as far as appearance went. This was… Rose?

As the girl realized she was being watched, she seemed almost startled, pulling back as if caught doing something she shouldn’t have.

Well… She _had_ kind of been invading Kagami’s personal space.

“Oh,” she said, “sorry. I didn’t know Chloe wrote people letters.”

“I doubt she does, usually,” said Kagami.

The girl looked back up at her, eyes glimmering unnecessarily.

“It must be something _really special _then.”

She seemed… Excited? But excited over-

_Oh._

Kagami’s heart sank, because, if she thought about it, she could _guess, _and apparently this girl was one of the _conspiracy_ theorists who was _so sure_ that…

Without even waiting for Adrien, she left the room, not even pausing to consider the possibility that she’d done nothing to change the girl’s mind.

The chill, once again, was a welcome change, as Kagami cut sharply across the courtyard to her own locker room.

She just needed to get dressed, prepare herself to fight, and then she could-

_Read the letter._

-step back out to fight, and be composed, and… What?

She realized, as she pushed the door open, that she’d pulled the envelope open without thinking about it.

As the rush of warm air struck her, she looked down at the paper in her hands.

Whatever it said, Chloe had clearly meant it to distract her. That meant that it was her responsibility to _not_ read it until _after _the tournament had ended.

It was an obvious answer.

Unfortunately, obvious didn’t mean _easy._

She shouldn’t read it; she’d already conceded too much ground to Chloe with the whole… sending her own letters, thing, and… Whatever madness seemed to be inexorably gripping her mind… She had the sickening sensation that with how far she’d already sunk, this letter might send her over some unknowable edge. Who knew where she’d land…

She shivered, and went to put on her gear.

Her foil’s balance was still perfect.

Her suit was spotless, and bound to strike dread in the heart of any enemy who knew its wearer.

Her hands were on the letter.

Her pulse was accelerating as her eyes darted to the top.

_‘Dearest Kagami…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We're getting one of this genre's classic tropes next chapter. Anyone care to hazard a guess which one it'll be?


	26. Day of the Tournament (Part 2): A Hurricane in Human Form

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami, despite being a wreck, manages to fight her way through every challenge she faces at the tournament, except for one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The list of things that make Chloe weak at the knees:  
1\. Angry Kagami  
2\. ???

Chloe standing up on the balcony, was proud of herself. Normally, she would just have put pen to paper and written whatever came to mind, but this time… This time, she had a feeling that she might get better results with a bit of thinking. Besides, she _needed_ to think if she was going to… fight back on the terms Kagami had set.

It was a bit shorter than usual, of course, but-

There was a flash of red, and hey eyes snapped to Kagami, stepping out of her locker room.

Chloe smiled easily down, in the vain hope that Kagami might look up, but…

No such luck…

Chloe felt a twinge of unease at that. What she’d written… It should have infuriated Kagami beyond the point of thinking. It should have…

\--

Kagami’s blade jabbed, slashed, parried against nonexistent attacks, but her mind was elsewhere.

** _‘Dearest Kagami,’_ **

She kept her eyes resolutely focused forward.

_Lunge, retreat, parry, counter, easy._

_Chloe had to have done it on purpose. She’d somehow realized how badly the rumors had affected her, and decided to rub salt in the wounds._

** _‘I know why you’d call me a nuisance. Frankly, it’s obvious.’_ **

The first match was called, and, Kagami lined up against someone she wouldn’t have recognized at the best of times.

She barely needed to pay attention, and she barely did. She always started against the lowest scored fencer, and at this point, she’d gotten used to the first few matches being practically pointless.

15 points flew by, and she barely had to put in a moment’s thought to avoid being hit.

_How many matches would this take?_

** _‘You’re just as prideful as you think I am…’_ **

The second match began, and Kagami knew that her technique was sloppy, and violent. Against a proper opponent, it wouldn’t stand.

_If her mother fought her like this…_

She would have shivered, had she not been too busy taking her second victory.

13 points. 14. 15. _Done._

Why did these matches end so quickly? As she stepped out of the ring, she felt the thoughts welling up inside her, as if she was about to vomit.

** _‘…you can’t stand the idea that you’ve finally met someone who won’t roll over when you show off your fencing.’_ **

Her hand clenched around the hilt of her foil, as she resisted the urge to look around for Chloe. _She wasn’t fighting for Chloe. She was fighting because she was Kagami Tsurugi._

The third match began, and, if she was right, this had to be halfway through. She was almost halfway through.

She jabbed, and her opponent caught it, returned-

She was almost surprised, managing another block and return before-

There was a jab in her stomach, and…

_0-1._

_Adrien. This was Adrien._

She reset herself, and tried to focus, as-

He advanced, and her mind blurred as, for a second, the words in the letter went quiet.

Adrien required her whole attention. He was _good._

She could feel the words in her head, muffled, but still there, itching to be heard.

0-2

2-2

4-3

8-5

9-7

Time ran out.

Breathing hard, she lightly tapped Adrien’s blade with her own.

He nodded, as they left the matt.

“I’ll try to meet you in the finals.”

_“I’ll be there.”_

She took a deep breath, letting the tension drop from her shoulders before she had to face down more trouble.

\--

Chloe _stared _where the match had been.

She’d… She’d seen Kagami fight before, but… She hadn’t seen her fight someone near her level.

She had to assume it was Adrien she’d been up against, and…

Chloe shivered, suddenly feeling the chill in the air.

She’d said before that she wanted to push Kagami to her limits, but now she knew how far she was from it.

But… The image appeared in Chloe’s head; Kagami striking her down with all she had, and Chloe returning every bit of it.

The thought was… intoxicating. Chloe shuddered, gripping the rail for support as her knees considered the possibility of giving out underneath her.

She wanted to try.

She wanted Kagami to fight _her_ like that_._ She wanted to fight what had looked like a storm in human form, and she wanted to _win._

\--

** _‘You hate the fact that I saw what you could do, and I was confident enough to say that I could do it.’_ **

The fourth and fifth match passed in a blur

As her sixth match began, Kagami felt that even as she’d tightened her grip on her mind, it was still slipping away again.

Her enemies were better than before, now, and she was conceding points that she shouldn’t be. Not to say that she was _losing._ But… She wasn’t winning as well as she should have been, and that thought…

She’d been right. The letter had been designed to distract her.

She didn’t _like_ losing easy points. She didn’t _like _being blatantly insulted.

Most of all, and the thought came with a metaphorical hand wrapped around the neck of the voice in her head, _she didn’t like Chloe._

** _‘You hate it even more that I was proving it to you, week after week.’_ **

_Adrien again._

Kagami had always considered swearing to be beneath her, and a sign of an uncontrolled tongue and an uncontrolled mind, but right now, she understood the impulse.

She tried, with all the training she’d ever had, to pull her mind back into a functional shape…

1-0

1-1

2-4

5-4

5-6

…

5-9

Kagami didn’t feel like there was much of her mind _left_ at this point, as Adrien tapped his blade against hers.

_Double elimination._

One more round against Adrien, for the victory.

A minute passed, and then two, as the round was reset, and Kagami desperately tried to recover her mind…

And then…

** _‘You should never write a letter when you’re angry, my dear Kagami. You’re not even a challenge when you do.’_ **

Her mind _caught, _somewhere between fury and control.

She couldn’t lose now.

_She couldn’t lose now._

Chloe was watching, and she’d be _damned_ if she let Chloe watch her lose.

She stood up.

_Now, Adrien. _

He nodded, matching her.

They took their places, and…

\--

Staring at the previous match, Chloe had _known_ that something was off, and, in all honestly, she’d been… disappointed.

This time, though…

Something was different.

2-0

Kagami took the first two rounds as if it was nothing, and Chloe got the impression that Adrien had been surprised by her sudden return.

3-1

Adrien finally managed to rally, and after a pair of hotly contended fights, managed to get on the board.

5-2

Still, despite his best efforts, Adrien was struggling to-

5-4

Chloe could only stare, hoping that if nothing else, she might be able to burn the image of what she was seeing into her head.

6-6

At 2 minutes, they were tied, and Chloe’s heart was beating as if _she _was the one in the fight.

7-8

9-9

Time was running down. There was a tie that ate up several seconds.

Only a few seconds left, and-

10-9.

_“Hah!”_

Chloe’s cheer was lost in the applause of the crowd, a fact that she was instantly, viscerally glad for, as she realized that…

She’d forgotten who she was watching.

She _immediately_ brought herself back to a much more reserved position and composed her expression to something that gave away less… excitement.

Down on the lower level, she knew for a fact that as Kagami took the medal, the twitch of her helmet had been _perfect_ to let her look up at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged, as if she was unimpressed, even as internally, her stomach had been turned to jelly by what she’d just seen.

She stood there, careful not to move, as the matts they’d put out to fence on were efficiently and methodically cleaned up, and the crowd of people families of the fencers, mostly, dispersed.

…

Minutes passed, and the room rapidly grew quieter. Chloe, of course, had stood there so that…

So that what, exactly? She didn’t have another letter to give Kagami.

She didn’t have _anything_ to do with Kagami; she’d _won,_ and Chloe had no intent of congratulating her for that.

She could say something to Adrien, of course, but his bodyguard had almost immediately scooped him up to take him home.

And then…

The courtyard had gone quiet, and Chloe…

“Hm.”

She stepped lightly down the stairs.

_Kagami hadn’t left the locker room._

As Chloe walked across the open space, she wondered, almost idly, whether Kagami had somehow gotten Akumatized over something. That wouldn’t make sense, of course, since she’d won, but, knowing Kagami, maybe she hadn’t won by _enough._

She stepped up to the door, and… listened.

Maybe… _Something_ inside?

She pushed her way in.

The room was quiet, but, at the edge of hearing…

_Muttering._

Careful not to make a sound, Chloe stepped closer.

It was definitely Kagami’s voice.

_“If I hadn’t… No, but…” _she groaned, softly, _“I shouldn’t have—”_ she made an aggravated noise. _“It doesn’t matter what I _did_. None of it matters, as long as I… None of it…” _she let out an uneasy breath. “_But I don’t care. I don’t…”_ There was a metallic rattle as if she’d just knocked a fist on one of the lockers. “I don’t care!”

Chloe, unable to resist, craned her neck to look around the lockers.

Kagami was back in her normal clothes again, but her hair was disheveled, and her expression was… angry.

_“I don’t…”_

Chloe pulled back, but too late.

_“You.”_

Chloe tried to make a snap judgement on whether to step out or not, but before she had a chance to decide, Kagami was already on her feet, and Chloe felt like something much bigger than a teenage girl was bearing down on her as Kagami rounded the corner.

_“Fight me.”_

Chloe blinked, barely managing to keep her expression neutral.

“Wh- What?”

_“You heard me the first time,”_ said Kagami, now advancing.

Chloe, suddenly forced to back away by the bright point, tried to muster some semblance of her normal personality.

“Yeah? Wh- What happened to me being ‘beneath you,’” she said, almost tripping over one of the benches.

Her back rammed into the wall, and Kagami slowed her advance, only stopping entirely when the point of her foil was almost at Chloe’s neck.

_“I…” _and Kagami swallowed, her breathing more _ragged_ than Chloe would have expected. “I don’t care.”

Chloe’s eyes seemed dragged back down to the foil in Kagami’s hands.

“Or… Or what? What if I say no?”

The blade pressed lightly against the underside of her chin, and, with a sharp inhale, she looked up.

Kagami was gazing directly into her eyes, and her face…

Chloe didn’t know what that expression was. There was anger, yes, but not as much as her voice would suggest… Fear… and… Chloe could have sworn she was about to cry.

“If…” Kagami blinked, heavily, and Chloe pulled back further, and not out of fear of the blade. She… She really _was_ almost crying. “If you don’t fight me… I’ll… I’ll do something I’ll regret.”

“Well…” said Chloe, the fear dying away in her chest, only to be replaced by the same sickened excitement she’d felt watching Kagami fight before, “it looks like you’ve got me at a disadvantage. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.”

Kagami let out a shuddering breath that could have been a laugh, and the blade dropped, from Chloe’s neck.

“Obviously. You don’t have your gear.”

_So. She’d meant fencing. Definitely fencing. Not… Murder._

“So… When? Where?”

Kagami’s expression twisted, in a way that a sufficiently astute viewer might have picked out as being the fear that precedes a risky request.

“The same time as before? The same place?”

It was a question.

Kagami was… inviting her.

_“Huh,”_ said Chloe, barely more than an incredulous breath.

She waited, a bit longer than she needed to.

“So you really just want to lose, then,” she said, and mustering every ounce of her trademark confidence she could find, which still wasn’t as much as she usually had. “Well. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

Kagami pulled in a long, barely-shaky breath, and when she looked up again, she was almost normal, except… No. She couldn’t have been smiling.

“I’ll be waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, for those of your keeping score at home, the classic trope was, 'Putting your sword under your rival's chin so that they look up and you can see the fear in their eyes.'


	27. A Warmup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the day of tournament, Chloe's a bit out of it, but Kagami's out of rage.

As Chloe walked into Kagami’s house for the first time in months, the thought occurred to her for the hundredth time that Kagami had _literally_ put a sword up to her neck; she could probably have called the police. For that matter, she probably _should_ have.

For that matter… She probably _still_ could, except…

Except _what_?

Except _something._

As she followed the now familiar path towards the training room, she wondered, idly, whether Kagami had asked her here so she could kill her in a less public place.

Probably not, she decided; after all, her driver would know, and Kagami… whatever else Chloe might say about her, she didn’t seem like the murdering sort.

Her eyes flicked around as she entered the room, wondering idly whether that was too nice a thing to think about one of her worst enemies.

Kagami wasn’t out here yet, and Chloe decided that ‘not murderous’ was probably a bit like saying she had a functional set of lungs. It wasn’t really remarkable unless it _wasn’t_ true.

She entered the locker room.

\--

Technically speaking, Kagami should have been ashamed of her actions yesterday. She’d practically lost her mind over _a letter_. She’d almost lost the tournament, even if it _was_ to Adrien. Then there was the whole business with threatening Chloe.

For the past few months, she’d been very careful _not_ to consider the possibility of letting Chloe come spar her again, but when the idea had occurred to her, it always seemed to involve her saying it coldly, as if she was more annoyed that Chloe kept asking than anything.

It had _not_ involved her impulse control fracturing so badly that… Well… Best not to dwell on what had _actually _almost happened.

The point was, she had fallen to pieces, and that should have bothered her.

But it hadn’t.

She’d gone home, and, barely thinking about it, done her homework, gone to bed early, and fallen asleep easily.

Now, the _why_ of the matter was a question, but it seemed like she’d just… run out of energy to care.

_Theoretically_, this was giving in to something something something she’d basically lost track of at this point, and she shouldn’t have let Chloe back into her house.

_Technically,_ she’d shown weakness in front of her worst enemy, and practically stated that Chloe _wasn’t_ beneath her, which was a loss.

_Functionally,_ though, trying to _not_ fight Chloe had been a mess; she’d almost gotten turned into a villain, been danced into the ground, and yesterday… Well, _yesterday_ had happened.

Her only option was to cut her losses, and start over from the top.

With any luck, things would go a bit more according to plan this time.

And, as she’d been sitting in class, she’d realized; what better way to remind herself that Chloe was her enemy than by fighting her regularly? What was that saying? ‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?’

With her mind at peace, Kagami made her way out of the locker room.

\--

Chloe was kind of starting to regret this; if Kagami fought like she had yesterday, Chloe would look like nothing so much as a training dummy, because, unfortunately, her normally limitless well of drive and fury seemed to have deserted her, today.

At a guess, it was just that yesterday had taken it out of her, despite the fact that, honestly, she hadn’t _done_ anything.

Still, whether or not she was really feeling a fight today, there was _no way_ she was leaving early. Losing was bad enough, as was making a poor showing, but losing by completely failing to fight? That was worse.

She straightened, stretching out her back.

No more waiting…

Here went nothing.

Chloe swallowed, and took a spot in the center of the floor, turning to face Kagami.

Kagami, of course, stepped up.

A second passed, as the two of them settled into their stances.

Then, another second.

And another…

Chloe hadn’t expected Kagami to revert to her ‘no first strikes’ rule, but, as the seconds stretched out, she began to get the impression that Kagami wasn’t going to-

\--

As Kagami had stepped up, she’d realized that she really didn’t know what she’d do if Chloe came at her with her normal, unrelenting assault. After yesterday… She wasn’t sure whether she had it in her to pay attention for a whole hour.

So, as the seconds had stretched out, she’d been relieved, and then unnerved, until, finally, she began to feel almost embarrassed about how long the silence had lasted, and lunged.

Chloe had practically jumped, seemingly not even trying to block.

Kagami frowned.

They reset, a second passed, and-

\--

Chloe, trying to ignore the fact that Kagami’s strike had caught her completely off-guard, struck back.

Kagami, of course, turned the strike back without issue, responding with a smooth, easy slash, which Chloe only narrowly dodged.

_It was sort of strange, actually. Kagami definitely wasn’t fighting with the same urgency as she’d had yesterday; her movements seemed to have less… Killing intent? For that matter, Chloe would have wagered money that this wasn’t even the level she’d been fighting at when they’d fought months ago._

She returned the counter, and, as expected, Kagami blocked it easily, but there was an instant longer before she returned it than there… _should_ have been?

Not to say that Kagami’s technique was anything less than immaculate, or that- Chloe sighed as Kagami’s foiled stabbed directly into her chest –Or that this wasn’t a challenge.

Kagami launched the first strike, this time.

Chloe, to her own surprise, parried and countered easily.

_Forward. Backward. Forward again, and-_

She laughed under her breath; she’d forgotten that how hard it was to land a hit on Kagami.

Still… To her own surprise, her losses weren’t making her _angry,_ or… Or anything, really. All she felt was…

_Backward. Forward._

Well…

Chloe had never been one for partner dancing, but, strange as it was to say, this felt more like dancing than the time she’d _actually_ danced with Kagami.

It was… relaxing.

_Relaxing, and, of course, every round she fought brought her closer to defeating her hated rival._

That was… very important.


	28. Watch Your Step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kagami's idea to make schedules fit together nicely accidentally results in Chloe possibly getting a concussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure we've exited the 'enemies' section of the fic with the this chapter and the last one, though, of course, they would maintain otherwise.

As Chloe stepped out of her car, there was a cool breeze, and, for the first time this year, she could actually see the grass outside of Kagami’s house.

It was their fifth week back, which meant that the grey damp of February was slowly shifting into the lethargic warming of March.

An astute observer would have noted that unlike the past weeks, she wasn’t carrying her gear in, except for her foil.

An equally astute observer would have replied that her foil had been the only thing she’d carried _out_ last time.

No such observers were around, thankfully, as she stepped inside; they’d mostly stopped casing the house in mid-January, when it was too cold to be worth it, and the excitement from New Year’s had worn off.

Chloe lightly flipped the foil in her hand, and promptly froze as she came face to face with Kagami.

“Chloe,” said Kagami, nodding.

“K- Kagami,” she said, managing to keep her voice steady after the false start. “I guess you’re the new… butler for your family, then.”

Kagami’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest.

“Because you… You’re doing what he did. And he’s not here.”

Kagami, very slowly, blinked at her.

“I was tired of waiting for you to finish warming up,” she said, turning, and starting to walk away. “I have no intention of wasting any more time than necessary standing in place while you show off how far you can stretch your legs for the hundredth time.”

Chloe flushed, following her. “Really? You’re really _that mad_ that you always get ready way too early? I am here _five minutes early_ right now.”

“And you’ll still only be ready five minutes late.”

Chloe scoffed. “Well, if you assume I’m supposed to be _ready_ in five minutes, then maybe, but you never_ said_ ready. Can you really blame me for assuming you meant _here_?”

“Yes.”

Chloe snorted with laughter.

“Right, I forgot, because you’re judgmental and awful.”

“Ha!” said Kagami, and Chloe was surprised to realize that it sounded like genuine amusement. “This coming from the girl who has the most recorded Akumas traced back to her.”

“Okay; first, I’ve never seen someone _prove_ that most of those were _my_ fault, and _secondly_, nobody’s even _suggested_ that one was my fault in the past several _months._”

“Because you’ve been focusing your aggression on me, and I have good self-control.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah… _‘fight me’.”_

It was hard to say at Chloe’s angle, but if her eyes didn’t deceive her, Kagami’s face turned red at the jab.

The image put a soft, warm glow in Chloe’s stomach, for reasons that she didn’t have the presence of mind to question.

“Well. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that you aren’t aggravating.”

Chloe snorted.

“Or that you aren’t arrogant, or standoffish.”

“And I wouldn’t go so far as to say that you’re a good dancer.” Chloe knew, knowing as she said it that it wasn’t a particularly good insult.

“That’s because I don’t care how good of a dancer I am.”

“Well…” said Chloe, as they drew near to the locker room, eyes fixed carefully on the side of Kagami’s face, “I think I remember a certain _ball_ that might imply otherwise.”

Kagami’s expression shifted, lips pursing in annoyance, even as that invigorating red glow spread across her cheeks.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, even as her face burned, “I assume you’re fabricating stories that paint you as the hero again.”

Chloe grinned, unable to keep her eyes away. She needed to press this advantage, and if ‘dear’ was an insult, then-

“_Moi? _I don’t _have_ to make things up_, _Kagamikins. I _always-_

_&0S8)U*_

Chloe staggered back, the sudden jumble of her mind tenuously resolving itself back into _her._

Vision dubious, she stepped back, back, and with a sickening sensation, she realized she’d overbalanced, and was falling towards-

There was a flicker in her vision, and the world suddenly _steadied._

When she recovered her senses in full, she registered, first of all, that she was leaning too far back to be standing, but…

She registered Kagami’s face, suddenly _very_ unimpressed, but still bright red, less than a foot from her own.

And… The pressure on her back.

“I’m choosing to _ignore_ what you just called me. Did you _really_ just concuss yourself on a door?” said Kagami, as Chloe stared, shocked, upwards into her eyes.

“Ahh…” Chloe eloquently replied, as her face suddenly, _inexplicably_, began _burning_.

She’d already known that Kagami’s arms were strong, but as she pulled her upright, there wasn’t even a trace of effort in the motion.

Kagami rolled her eyes. “You _idiot._ I’ll take that as a yes. Can you walk?”

_“I- Well- Obviously,” _she said, swallowing, trying frantically to recover her mind.

She got her legs beneath her, and straightened up, brushing Kagami’s arms away from her.

“See?” she said, taking a few unstable steps backwards, “I’m _fine,_ and if you hadn’t interfered, I’d have-

Kagami’s arm flashed out, grabbing her by the collar, and Chloe froze, certain, for an instant, that Kagami was about to punch her, or-

But Kagami’s face was just annoyed.

“Watch where you’re going,” she said, and as Chloe turned, she realized that she’d almost backed into the wall.

“_Obviously I was going to stop,” _she said, rolling her eyes.

Kagami didn’t respond, eyes staring directly into Chloe’s own, as if trying to read her mind.

“You need to sit down,” she said, her grip loosening on Chloe’s collar.

Chloe scoffed. Kagami _clearly_ wanted a chance to rub in the fact that she’d just walked into a door, but…

“Like _I_ don’t recognize a transparent attempt to stop me from fighting.”

She turned, and started walking into the locker room, her collar pulling away from Kagami’s hand.

“Chloe,” said Kagami, following her, and Chloe felt her hand almost catch her arm.

_Not today._

She stepped past the lockers, and, reaching out, pulled the door wide open. She knelt down, and tried to figure out how to get her gear out of the locker.

“Chloe, I wasn’t asking.”

“Ha! Well, _I_ wasn’t listening.”

“_Sit down, Chloe.”_

_“’Sit down, Chloe,’”_ she mimicked, head nodding from side to side, “Yeah? Make me.”

For a second, she thought she’d shut Kagami up, and then-

_“Fine,”_ said Kagami, and then, without any further warning, one arm was wrapped around Chloe’s midsection, and another was around her head, pressing her back into Kagami’s chest.

Then, before she’d even fully processed _that,_ she’d been pulled backward, off her feet.

The arm on her head slipped down, and around her shoulders, and before she’d even properly registered what was happening, her entire upper body was pressed firmly against Kagami’s.

Chloe wanted to make a biting comment about how she was _fine, _and this was _utterly ridiculous,_ but the words didn’t want to come.

_“You are going to sit here until we’re sure you’re not concussed.”_

_“You’re trying to steal my practice time,” _she managed, which wasn’t quite the answer she’d been looking for.

There was a long silence, and Kagami sighed, the sound coming out as a cool breeze along the side of her face.

“Please?”


	29. Lockdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Incredible! Kagami, despite believing she's hit rock bottom in her fight with Chloe multiple times, now finds herself losing even more ground.

_‘Please.’_

She felt Chloe stiffen at the word, before slowly, _painfully slowly_, settling down.

Neither of them said a word, and Kagami would have guessed that, for Chloe, it was because neither of them would have believed, _‘I’ll do it because I want to, not because you tell me to.’_

Kagami, not entirely sure whether she should trust Chloe’s acquiescence, carefully retrieved her lower arm, but left the one around her shoulders.

“So…” said Chloe, “how long is this going to take?”

Kagami, shifting so that her torso wasn’t twisted, sighed.

“For a minor concussion, you’d be fine after 15 minutes.”

She didn’t need to see Chloe’s face to recognize annoyed disbelief.

“Seriously? So… What, you expect me to just sit here _for the next 15 minutes?”_

“Yes,” said Kagami, with more certainty than she felt.

The problem, of course, was that, firstly, she _wasn’t fighting_ Chloe right now, which was kind of important, and _secondly,_ that they were…

Chloe was far too close, was the point, and her hair still smelled like honey, and Kagami was, frankly, not prepared to deal with either of those things for the next 15 minutes.

She needed to keep her mind occupied, or she needed to sit further away.

That in mind, she started, slowly, to retract her arm.

_“Well,”_ said Chloe, “then you’ve got another thing-

Kagami, grimacing, replaced the arm.

_-coming.” _Chloe practically _growled._

“I assure you, I would be much more comfortable fighting you,” she said, “but I’m not going to fight you while you’re concussed.”

_“A.”_ said Chloe, “I’m not concussed, and _B. _Why exactly would _you_ care if I _was?_”

Kagami took a careful breath, while, unfortunately, her face was distressingly close to Chloe’s hair.

_Honey. She really needed to train herself to hate it._

“You’re a guest in my house,” she said, shoving past the intruding thought, “and whatever your purpose here, it’s rude to actually _hurt_ you. Besides, how are you going to fight without an enemy?”

Chloe fell silent.

“I can practice alone.”

“You came up with that _after_ I asked.”

“Shut up.”

\--

Kagami chuckled, and Chloe was struck by the fact that a sound that would barely register at a distance was, up close, a full-body motion, however subtle.

She wondered if, just out of sight, Kagami was smiling.

She resisted the urge to turn and check.

“As for knowing that you’re concussed, would you rather I believe you concussed yourself, or that you were about to back into a wall due to your own incompetence?”

They both knew that she wasn’t incompetent, but Chloe had already said she wasn’t concussed, so-

“Well, _obviously_ you were distracting me.”

_“Distracting you,”_ Kagami said, flatly. Chloe caught a trace of something almost disgusted.

“Mhm.”

“How?”

“You were clearly… making yourself as compelling an enemy as possible, so I wouldn’t watch my step.”

Frankly, even Chloe couldn’t imagine believing it.

“That’s incredibly deluded.”

She groaned. “Well? What else am I supposed to get out of you turning all blushy when I insult you?” She crossed her arm, and shoved herself backwards, forcibly treating Kagami like a piece of furniture. “It’s like… a signal flare that says, ‘hey, look at me, I’m getting embarrassed,’ when you _know_ that the _obvious_ answer to that is to press my advantage. Face it, Kagami, this was a blatant attempt to get me hurt.”

There was a long, long silence.

“I don’t get embarrassed,” said Kagami, and Chloe found the denial more annoying than it should have been. She was on the defensive, when she shouldn’t have been.

“Yeah, right,” she said, rolling her eyes, “I’d like to see you try saying that after dancing with me again.”

Kagami growled, and Chloe tried and failed not to shiver.

“Do you _really_ not have any other material?”

“Ex- _Excuse_ me?”

“You’ve held onto that _single point_ for _months_ now, and it seems to be the only thing you can find to talk about.”

“Well,” said Chloe, “maybe if you were letting me fight you, I’d be _finding_ something else to talk about. I’m hardly going to _brag_ about my _losses._”

“Should I take it as a compliment that you’ve run out of insults for me, then?”

“Oh, you want insults?” said Chloe, pressing backwards a bit harder, shifting her shoulders and cracking her neck, “then get _comfortable,_ because I just need a second to get all my insults lined up, and then I’ll be _more_ than happy to give you a taste.”

\--

Chloe leaned back, her head fitting neatly in the crook of Kagami’s shoulder. Her expression was scrunched in the manner of someone carefully pondering something, and Kagami…

Chloe was _awful, _so why… Why was that expression _adorable?_

There was a bit of her that insisted that this meant that she should _immediately_ throw Chloe off, and go find some leftover snow and _bury_ herself in it, but…

The first problem was that last time, that had almost gotten her Akumatized. The _second_ problem was…

Was…

“Really. ‘Get comfortable,’” she said, mustering all the acid she could manage. She sighed. _“Fine,”_ and… slowly, cautiously, let her head bend to the side, until her cheek was pressed neatly into Chloe’s hair.

_“You know what I…”_ There was a pause. “Whatever.”

And then, for a moment, all was silent, but for Chloe muttering, unintelligible even at this distance, and Kagami…

She’d heard the term ‘Ice Queen,’ once or twice, used in reference to _her,_ and, at the time, she’d taken it as a compliment, whatever it was meant as. She _was_ cold. She was cold, and collected, and… Right now?

Right now, she was melting.

The heat that had been burning her from the inside out was dissipating, except from her eyes, which… Kagami didn’t cry often, but right now, she could feel tears softly welling up.

Her breathing shuddered in her chest.

\--

Chloe was, frankly, a bit confused.

On the one hand, Kagami was practically _asking_ to be insulted, while, on the other, practically using her as a pillow.

She tapped a finger on the bench beside her.

Whatever Kagami was thinking… Chloe didn’t think it was _dangerous._ In fact… She felt kind of safe, really, and, all things considered, and, truth be told, her position wasn’t exactly _uncomfortable_.

“The first thing I hate about you…” she said aloud.

“Mmm?” hummed Kagami, not even bothering to speak properly.

This should have been easy, but she’d gotten distracted.

“The first thing I hate about you,” she said, snagging the first thing she could find, “is that you’re so uncomfortable to lean on. Honestly, if you’re going to hold someone hostage, the _least_ you can do is be _softer_ than that.”

Kagami chuckled, and her face shifted, her cheek slipping slightly across the top of Chloe’s head.

_“That’s muscle. You should get some.”_

_“And the second thing that I hate is how you utterly refuse to let an insult stand.”_

_“You make them so easy to block.”_

_“And the third thing that I hate about you…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah.  
Kagami has officially given up entirely.


	30. Phone A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami's position only grows more precarious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, writing Kagami in this mental state is tricky. On the one hand, she's an extremely driven and sturdy individual, who probably avoids asking for help whenever possible. On the other hand, she's completely out of her element here, and dealing with unfamiliar emotions, which could mess with anyone.

When she’d finally finished her litany of insults, Chloe had, for almost a full minute, sat silent, part of her trying to come up with another line, and the rest of her trying to muster the will to stand.

Theoretically, this was _extremely_ uncomfortable; that had been the very first thing she’d complained about, but…

In reality, she was warm, and Kagami seemed almost to have fallen asleep, and it would be such a shame if…

Wait.

Hang on.

This was Kagami. Waking her up was _not_ a shame.

It had to have been at least 15 minutes, right?

She’d lost track, somewhere in there, but… Yeah.

15 minutes minimum.

So, granted that there hadn’t been any signs of concussion manifesting, or whatever had been supposed to happen, she was free to stand up and walk away, and if Kagami said otherwise, then…

Chloe didn’t know what would happen if Kagami tried to get her to sit down again.

A long, long second passed, as Chloe tried to unravel the situation, before eventually…

“Alright, I’m done waiting! I’m not concussed, and you’ve stalled long enough.”

Kagami shifted, as if drowsy, and then… Carefully, she pulled herself back, Chloe, at this distance, could practically feel her stretching out.

Seemed like she was being let go.

Good.

“Now, if you’ll get out of my way, _I was getting dressed._”

“Obviously,” said Kagami.

Her voice was strange, the tone almost the same as it might have been back when this had all started, but… There was no bite.

_‘Back when this had all started.’_

That had been September, right?

Six months ago.

For six months, she had been trying and failing to defeat Kagami in any meaningful sense.

Half a year, and still she hadn’t won.

_Well,_ she thought, pulling on her face mask, _she’d buckled in for the long haul this far, she wasn’t going to stop now._

\--

Chloe, as she always did, fought hard, and Kagami, for her part, was glad for her remaining skill lead; she had the presence of mind to keep thinking, even as she fought, and she certainly had a lot of thinking to do.

The first thing she had to think about was the strange stillness that had come over her mind. She felt… peaceful, compared to how she was normally, almost _too_ peaceful.

It felt like…

Actually… It felt like she’d been back before this whole mess had started.

Before she’d met Chloe, she’d felt as if the only voice in her head was her own, and now…

Well… It was _still_ only her voice in her head, and if _her_ voice sounded a little bit more like the one that had refused to be silenced for the past months, maybe that was just because it had been hers all along.

The second thing she had to think about was the absurdity of the whole situation; the path that had drawn her from September to the present had been winding and precarious, but somehow inexorable. Despite her best efforts to avoid it, something had seemed to keep pulling her back into it…

No, that was just Chloe.

The third thing, of course, was Chloe herself.

She was spiteful, arrogant, vain, and…

Well. Kagami could do a fair share of name-calling, and if she put her mind to it, offer just as many explanations as to how Chloe managed to be more than the sum of her parts, but the simplest way of putting it was… She liked Chloe.

It was as Chloe herself would put it, _utterly ridiculous,_ but regardless of how she tried to turn the thought over in her head, the results came out the same; she liked Chloe, and, if the voice in the back of her mind had been any indication, she _had_ liked her for a while.

Kagami remembered where she was, what she was doing, and, above all, _who she was doing it with,_ and behind her mask, she couldn’t hide a smile.

\--

As Adrien dropped his transformation, he stood, for a moment, in his window, letting the chill of the wind wash over him. Fighting supervillains was hard work, and he was glad, for the moment, just to let himself cool down.

Now that March had reached its midpoint, he was really beginning to feel spring on the horizon, and for all he loved a cool breeze, he wasn’t going to miss the winter; Ladybug, for one thing, _did not_ like the cold, and he hated to see her shiver.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, once, twice, three times, four… He sighed, pulling it out. It always did that when he detransformed, since, apparently, transforming effectively put him in a no-service-zone.

Let’s see, new on the list of notifications… Ah. Three random notifications from apps he’d stopped using months ago, and… messages from Kagami.

He tapped.

_TK: I need to talk to you_

A gap of several minutes, and then,

_TK: You’re the only person I can talk to about this_

The second message had come in 20 minutes ago.

_AA: I’m here?_

There was a good 30 seconds of silence, and then…

His phone buzzed, and he frowned.

Kagami didn’t normally go in for texting, _let alone_ actual phone conversations.

He answered.

“Hello? Kagami?”

_“Yes.”_

There was a moment of silence.

“Are you… Okay?”

More silence.

_“I need help.”_

“Oh- okay? What with?”

There was one more pause, longer than the others, and then…

_“I think I like Chloe.”_

“Oh! Oh, well, I… That’s good, then, right?”

“_Except for the fact that she still hates me.”_

Adrien looked up, back out the window again, and…

He grimaced, heart sinking.

He’d hoped that Marinette’s assessment of the situation had been wrong. He’d almost felt safe after New Year’s, thinking that whatever the case before, surely things had at _least_ improved, but…

Well.

“So… I guess… Things didn’t go well, then.”

_“I never managed to defeat her in any way that taught her any kind of humility, if that’s what you mean.”_

Adrien hadn’t meant that. He hadn’t meant that at _all._ For a second, he considered explaining that his whole plan in getting them to fight had been predicated on the idea that Chloe had a crush on her, but…

_“And…”_ said Kagami, continuing the thought with the tone of one imparting an embarrassing secret, _“I think that’s part of the problem.”_

“Oh?”

_“She’s just so… headstrong,”_ said Kagami, with an almost despairing tone…

“I… see,” said Adrien, “You… You like her because she’s strong-willed.”

_“Something in the way she fights is… different.”_

“_Good_ different?”

Kagami laughed, gently.

Adrien took that as a yes.

_“That’s why I called. I need advice”_

“Okay? Advice on what?”

_“I… don’t know.”_

Adrien paused.

“Okay. Well… What do you _want_?”

The time stretched out interminably

Adrien, for a second, could almost imagine that Kagami’s phone had gone dead, and…

When Kagami finally responded, her voice was soft, and decidedly different from how she normally spoke. She sounded… almost scared.

“I want her to like me back.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, given a second chance, tries to figure out what exactly is going on.

_‘I want her to like me back.’_

The words echoed in Adrien’s ears, not quite sinking in properly. He knew he liked them, but he wasn’t quite sure _why._

“Oh,” he said, stupidly.

“And I consider you a friend,” continued Kagami, “and you’ve known her for longer than I have.”

Slowly, very slowly, Adrien began to nod, ignoring the fact that she couldn’t see him.

“Well…” he said, eventually, “I’d need to think about it, but-

“Of course,” said Kagami, almost sounding relieved at his hesitation. “Take all the time you need.”

“Ah…” he said, mind elsewhere, “well… I guess… I’ll get back to you… later?”

“Yes, and please… If you can avoid making it obvious to Chloe…”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

The line went dead, and Adrien…

Adrien replaced his phone in his pocket, and ran a hand across his face.

Then, he reached out and shut the window.

He had been _incredibly_ wrong about Kagami liking Chloe, or, possibly, he’d been _completely_ right, but Kagami hadn’t known it at the time.

He was going to assume it was the second thing, as long as he had the option.

_Either way, it didn’t matter, because the real question was now_ what?

Kagami was right, of course, that he’d known Chloe longer than she had, but… for the first several years of their interactions, he’d only ever seen her around her _butler,_ or her father, and… well, _him,_ but _none_ of those seemed like what Kagami was looking for.

So how _exactly_ was he supposed to help her when he really hadn’t known the full depths of Chloe’s personality for that much longer than she had?

He turned away from his window, feeling the twitch in his legs that didn’t feel like it would go away until he’d paced for a good long while.

He was Chloe’s friend, yes, but he’d become her friend when they’d been small children, and largely avoided her more hostile traits. He’d become friends with a young girl with a penchant for being a princess and having tantrums when she didn’t get what she wanted, with dance lessons twice a week, and enough fashion opinions to put his father to shame.

What _Kagami_ was dealing with, meanwhile, was an easily bored, self-absorbed, not particularly friendly…

Adrien stopped.

_Wait._

“Plagg?” Adrien called.

There was the faint sound of groaning from his bed.

Adrien took a few tentative steps closer, and…

“Plagg?” he repeated.

The groan came again, and then there was a flash of green in the dark as Plagg opened his eyes.

_“What.”_

“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

Plagg groaned. “_Yes.”_

Adrien sighed. “Please?”

A long pause.

_“I swear, if this is about Ladybug again…”_

“No! No, this… This is about…”

Adrien paused, realizing that the particular set of characteristics he’d honed in on might not be especially complimentary.

“This is about… Two of my friends. Kagami and Chloe?”

Blearily, Plagg blinked at him, his eyes slightly out of sync.

“They’re… the ones you thought were in love with each other or something, yeah?”

“Ah- yes,” said Adrien. “The thing is, it looks like I was right about Kagami liking Chloe, but Chloe doesn’t like Kagami back.”

Plagg stared at him blankly. “Okay?”

“And…” he said, “I was thinking… I know someone who… Doesn’t make friends easily… And likes to pretend he doesn’t care about people, even when he does… And I thought he might be able to help?”

A long, _long_ second went by, as Plagg stared, stone-faced at him.

“Well then you better ask _him,_ then,” he said, “because I just got comfortable.”

_“Please, Plagg?”_

Plagg, even as he turned away, paused. After a long second, he sighed, and…

_“For the record,”_ he said, “_I have never admitted to that last thing, okay?”_

“What thing?” said Adrien, giving him an oversized wink as he floated down onto the back of the couch.

“Ha.” said Plagg, and then, “So… What?”

“Well…” said Adrien, “I guess I’m just wondering… Has this ever happened to you?”

“I _really_ haven’t been paying attention,” said Plagg, “has _what_ ever happened to me?”

“I guess… How often do you have to deal with grudges? Have you ever been friends with someone after one?”

Plagg let out a low groan.

“Listen. I meet maybe 10 people a century, _maximum._ I don’t exactly get the chance.”

“So… That’s a no?”

“I mean, I’ve been around a while. It’s _happened_. Didn’t really see the point. It’s a lot of work, and the payoff, honestly, isn’t worth it.”

“Payoff?”

Plagg shrugged. “Winning, I think? It always seems like if you want it to count as a grudge you have to keep doing things to remind them how much you _~hate them~.”_ Plagg rolled his eyes. “And usually, the best that happens is that they stop doing it back, because it’s not like they’re going to decide that you’ve won.”

From what Kagami had said, it had probably been the last 6 months, and it showed no signs of stopping, certainly.

“What’s the longest one you’ve had?”

Plagg snorted. “I mean, if you count the one a few eons ago, then a couple centuries. That one ended on the moon. You can still see the crater.”

“Oh. Right. Kwami.”

“I mean… Yeah. I can think of three ‘meteor impacts’ and one supernova that should have my name on them, and that’s just the ones on the books.”

“Oh. Do you… Do you keep track?”

Plagg shrugged. “Eh.”

“Wh- Anyway. So, you’ve never been friends with someone after a grudge, then.”

“Usually, I just gave up on annoying them after a while, or they give up on annoying me. Doesn’t mean I liked them, just that I don’t care enough. Now, _humans,_ meanwhile, I’ve seen some of them spend _decades_ on them, but that’s usually about keeping up appearances.”

“And Chloe does love keeping up appearances…”

Adrien blinked.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, Plagg, you’ve been really helpful,” he said, now staring into the distance.

Plagg stared blankly at him for a few seconds before shaking his head, and heading back to the little niche he’d carved for himself in Adrien’s blankets.

Adrien, turning away, seemed to wrap a hand around the idea he’d just had, holding on tight for fear that it would drift away if he wasn’t careful.

Chloe loved keeping up appearances. That was just… _a fact._ So, logically, shouldn’t she have been publicizing her fight with Kagami as much as possible? She’d made an enemy, and every other time she’d done that, she’d made no secrets about it to the world; everyone knew she didn’t get along with Marinette, or Alya, or… really, most people, but especially those two. Yet, he recalled more than once hearing Rose rambling on and on, wondering whether they’d ever tell the world that they were together, and…

Had Chloe heard her? Surely, if she had, the _right_ answer would have been to march up to her and dispel any illusions she might have about the issue.

And, if she wasn’t reminding the whole world that they were enemies, then why commit to constantly putting herself up against Kagami? Maybe she wanted to become the better fencer, but since when did Chloe even care about fencing? _And,_ even if she _did_ just want to be the better fencer, what had kept her motivation up this whole time?

Unless, and there was the leap of faith, _unless,_ Chloe, like Kagami, was lying to herself.

It was a dangerous thing to assume, and he didn’t know if there was any way to be _truly_ sure, but… if he was right… Plagg might have given him just the way to act on it.


	32. Reversed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's been a bit confused over the past week, but that won't affect her fight with Kagami.  
Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, I got kinda distracted, but the good news is, the next chapter is almost guaranteed to be, like... instant. It's one of those situations.

Adrien had been acting _weird. _That was… weird in a way that Chloe wasn’t used to.

Over the past week, he’d sent her no less than 4 texts ‘just checking in on her,’ and had tracked her down _twice_ after class, just to talk.

That wasn’t to say that Chloe was _mad_ about it; frankly, she was more annoyed by the fact that he didn’t talk to her _more often._

But…

Something was weird. That was the point. Something was weird with Adrien, and she didn’t know _exactly_ what, but he’d asked a few too many questions about how her whole _thing_ with Kagami was going.

She’d told him, of course; she was… _doing well,_ making progress, getting better, bound to win eventually.

Yeah. Doing well. Except, of course, that progress was moving at the same rate that it always did, which was to say, _slowly._

More to the point, if Adrien had been acting weird, Kagami had been downright unsettling.

Obviously, Chloe had to keep an eye on her, and, of course, Kagami did the same; functionally speaking, that meant that moments of sharp, deadly eye contact were _required, _and theoretically that was fine. By now, it was to the point where… Well, Chloe had no intentions of looking away first, but she _also_ had no intentions of standing there, getting delayed from doing whatever important thing she _actually_ wanted to be doing.

So, after, like, the first five times, there had been an implicit understanding of the _timing_ involved. Neither of them was willing to look away first, so they had to look away at the same time. Again, all perfectly normal for someone that you hated.

_Except._ Kagami had _apparently_ lost her sense of timing. Multiple times, now, Chloe had started to look away, only to realize that Kagami wasn’t matching the motion. More to the point, her expression was _wrong;_ Chloe was used to a cold, stone statue looking back at her, but for the past week Kagami had seemed… Vacant?

Not vacant, but… Something. Something weird. It was like she was just going through the motions, like her body was there, but her mind was somewhere else.

Chloe didn’t like that; Kagami was supposed to be her enemy, or her rival, or _whatever._ The point was, she wasn’t supposed to be able to give half-hearted responses to anything Chloe did. At least, she wasn’t supposed to be able to do that without _losing._

…

Kagami was waiting for her at the door again, and this time, Chloe kept her composure a bit better_._

She stood, for a second, half-expecting some greeting, or jab, or _something,_ but Kagami just stood there. Her expression was the same blank slate as before, but Chloe was sure she could see thoughts moving behind her eyes.

Well. She’d see if she couldn’t force a bit of fire out of her.

They walked in silence to the lockers, Chloe trying and failing to resist the urge to glance over. The first few times, there was nothing of note but that same stupid blankness, but the last time she tried…

Kagami was looking back, not hostile, but… Uncertain. _Doubtful._

Chloe didn’t have time to parse the expression in the moment, of course, just twitching back to face forward, trying to keep her face from showing her embarrassment at having been caught looking.

_She didn’t look back after that, which meant she didn’t catch Kagami blushing._

_Probably for the best; she might have walked into another wall, and nobody wanted that._

They walked into the locker room, and got dressed.

Neither of them said a word.

Chloe made it out first, spurred on by the strange nerves that had started snaking through her stomach. She _needed_ to fight now. She _understood_ fighting. Silence, meanwhile…

_She wasn’t scared. She was Chloe Bourgeois, she wasn’t scared. _After all, Kagami had gone dead silent _before;_ she hadn’t said a word for _months_, and Chloe had handled that perfectly well.

_It hadn’t hurt to look at her. There had just been a soft, gentle emptiness in her stomach. Her fingers had twitched when she’d remembered that Kagami still existed. Some days, she’d gotten home, picked up her foil, and stabbed and slashed at the air for hours, unable to shake the feeling that every move she made would have been all too easy to counter in an actual fight._

_She’d been fine._

She warmed up, of course, and Kagami had arrived no more than a minute after her.

Chloe wanted to ask who was making _whom_ wait _now,_ but… The words fell flat before she even opened her mouth.

After what felt like an eternity, Chloe couldn’t keep warming up, and stood, taking the center of the floor.

Kagami, after a second, stood, and…

_There._ It was that hesitation. She stepped slowly, _cautiously_ forward, and Chloe cursed the inventors of fencing for putting the participants in face-masks. _Yes,_ Kagami wasn’t expressive at the best of times, but right now, Chloe was _burning_ to see her face.

_She needed to know._

Kagami raised her foil, took up her stance, and…

She struck, stabbing forward with all the grace and poise that Chloe was used to.

For a second, as she only narrowly managed to block, Chloe thought that things were normal, but, as the foils clashed, Chloe knew something had to be off.

There was no… _iron _in the way she was moving.

Chloe struck back, the foil made perfect contact.

One victory. Two.

Kagami, with skillful feint, managed to stop Chloe’s winning streak, but it _wasn’t enough._

_She was supposed to be losing._

Chloe’s grip tightened on her foil.

She slashed out again, and Kagami responded faster, but_ it wasn’t enough_.

_Again._

_Again._

_Again._

Her hands were shaking, now, her foil moving in blazing arcs. Her technique was awful, and they both had to know it, but the thought only made the burning in her stomach worse. _Every single move she made should have been easy for Kagami to catch._

Kagami blocked one, and barely responded before the next followed it.

One.

Kagami was backing away, now, and her stance, the same one Kagami had stolen for her own use, was _cracked._

Two.

She still refused to fight back, moving deftly, but slowly.

Three.

Kagami stumbled as she backed away, and Chloe had the bare presence of mind to remember when they’d seen each other after the tournament.

_Four._

It didn’t even feel like it was Kagami in front of her anymore.

_Five._

Chloe wasn’t resetting anymore, just pushing, _forward, and forward, and-_

_Six._

_“You wanted to fight me, didn’t you!?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all ready for this?


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kagami is even more out of her element than when she was talking to Adrien.
> 
> Chloe has a mental breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I ever do revisions on this story, I might need to add more build-up on Chloe's end...  
Much to consider.

The silence seemed to _fracture_ at the question.

_“I… You…”_

Chloe’s free hand clenched into a fist, and though she was wearing gloves, Kagami would have bet that her knuckles were white around the hilt of her sword.

_“_You_ told _me to fight you!”

Kagami should have responded.

Instead, though her body was stiff and still, and her mind was grasping about, trying to find something to hold on to.

_“…and… and I listened,”_ said Chloe, and her voice was… disgusted, pained, furious… pitiful.

Adrien’s advice had come too late for her to prepare herself to follow it, but early enough to get inside her head.

Chloe’s head bent, slightly, and her hand came up, gloved fingers clawing at the face mask.

“This… This all _started_ because I refused to do what you said, so… _what?_ _Why!?_ _Why won’t you fight back!? You’re supposed to fight back!_”

Kagami remembered what she’d thought, half a year ago; To beat Chloe, all she really had to do was ignore her.

If Chloe didn’t get her fight…

_This_ was what victory looked like.

It made her sick to her stomach.

“So_ what!? _You’re just going to… Just… Just _stand_ there and take it? Let me hit you?”

Chloe hands came up in front of her, trembling, and then, in a snap, she threw her sword to the ground.

The sound rang through the room.

“Come on!” She shouted, and reaching up, she pulled the helmet off, and… She was crying, her face twisted into broken rage. “_Do_ something! _Say_ something!”

Kagami felt her breath trying to fail her, every bit of training she’d had insufficient for the moment.

_She understood what Adrien had meant._

_Chloe couldn’t be beaten into submission._

_But…_

“You win.”

Chloe, tears dripping from the corners of her eyes, froze.

_“What.”_

She didn’t seem to even understand the words.

Kagami took in a slow, shuddering breath, and, reaching up, pulled her helmet away.

“I said…” She took another breath, knowing, as surely as she knew anything, that if she made even the slightest slip, her composure would finally break. “_You win.”_

Chloe’s eyes widened, mouth twisting in obvious confusion. She looked down, left, right, as if searching for an answer.

_“_That… _No.”_

_\--_

Kagami didn’t have a response for the denial.

_“This can’t be how it ends.”_

“How… what ends?” said Kagami, her voice as quiet as before.

_“I… I’m not done with you.” _She didn’t answer the question.

_“Hm.”_

_“You can’t just give up. I haven’t won yet._”

They weren’t the words she was looking for, but she couldn’t find any that were better. There was something coiling in her stomach, worse than fear or rage.

“Chloe,” she said, and her voice was soft, in a way Chloe hadn’t heard before. “You _have _won. You can walk into school tomorrow, and tell everyone how well you did. You fought me, and you won.”

_“This can’t be winning. _You have to… _take_ victory._”_

_“Chloe…” _she said, _“Please. I don’t want to fight you.”_

“I…” Her arms came up, and even as she had Kagami backed into a corner, _she_ was the one falling to her knees. _“Why!?”_

Her fingers raked through her hair, ruining what should have been a perfect style. Without the gloves, her fingernails would surely have drawn blood.

Kagami stepped forward, and…

_“Do you want me to say it?”_

Chloe shuddered as one of Kagami’s fingers landed gently on her shoulder, followed by the rest of her hand. She didn’t know if her body had suddenly frozen, or if the world had suddenly turned _blisteringly_ hot. Her body didn’t even seem truly present.

It was like… It was like the hand on her shoulder had was directly on her soul.

Kagami knelt down in front of her, legs folding neatly under her, and Chloe, just as badly as she’d wanted to see her face before, to get _some_ insight into her mind, was so desperately glad that her arms were blocking her view, now.

There was a long silence, and, from beyond the confines of her arms, she could hear Kagami breathing, softly, shakily.

_“You’re going to be okay.”_

She didn’t respond, lips twisting in an expression that wanted to be fury, but only managed pain.

Okay didn’t matter.

Okay _shouldn’t_ have mattered.

She was _supposed_ to fight.

She _needed_ to fight, now, or… Or…

Kagami’s hand only slid a bare inch, and the pressure was so subtle that even the slightest resistance would have pulled her away.

But… It was like she’d tried to batter a door down, and on the other side, she’d only found a bottomless pit.

_She’d pushed so hard, and now she was falling._

There was no ground to dig her heels into.

Her arms slipped, coming down so that only her hands were on her face, and…

She fell forward, collapsing onto Kagami.

Her whole body _shuddered._

“I know,” said Kagami, as if in response to something Chloe hadn’t said.

_“You…”_ she said… _“You… Shut up. Just… Shut up. You’re my enemy. You don’t get to be… nice.”_

_“I know,” _said Kagami. “I’m… Sorry.”

Her fingers twitched, uncertain. _She needed to… To do something. She needed to lash out, to claw at her until she stopped trying to help._

\--

It took all of Kagami’s focus not to panic or pull away.

She’d seen people cry, once or twice.

It had never been Chloe, and… It felt _wrong._

With the slow, uncertain motion of inexperience, she moved the hand on Chloe’s shoulder further back, and brought the other to match it.

The action, some amateurish imitation of a hug, seemed to finally shatter the last of Chloe’s composure, and she collapsed in on herself, heaving a sob.

_Kagami had only the faintest recollection of her time as an Akuma, but she remembered what it felt like when the object was broken. It was like her soul was being ripped out of her body, every feeling that had made her accept Hawkmoth’s deal clinging to the power._

_Seeing Chloe bent double, broken in front of her, was worse._

She shouldn’t have done it. She should have let Chloe handle what she needed to without interference.

She tried to gently loosen her grip, and pull away, but-

Chloe pushed forward, hands gripping into the thick material of the jacket, head ramming into Kagami’s chest, hitting all the harder for how _soft_ the contact was.

_She wasn’t supposed to leave._

Her head bent, and she hesitated, for a second, before tightening her grip around Chloe.

_Then she wouldn’t._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed Failed Step One (and Two (And Three)), and of course, thank you all for your support and-
> 
> Haha no, can you imagine?  
Story's not over yet.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami's there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, this fic always needs at least one more chapter.

A minute, maybe two, had passed, and this should have been easy. Literally _one_ week ago, she’d been sitting just like this with Chloe, making sure that she didn’t run off and get hurt, and _this_ week… The point was, this shouldn’t have been anything new, but it _was._

Part of her wanted to leave. If she stood up and walked away, the sick sensation in her stomach might go away. She’d have been lying if she said the idea wasn’t tempting… Except, of course, that that would mean leaving Chloe to face whatever this was on her own.

She couldn’t do that, especially not now that Chloe had gone still; something told her that now, of all times, was a bad one to leave.

She took a long, slow breath, and _waited._

\--

Chloe had never been big on introspection; normally, when Chloe felt something, she knew what it was, and she knew where it was coming from.

Right now, the _where_ had to be Kagami, but the _what… _As the first few minutes had passed, and the answer didn’t appear in her head, Chloe, still wracked by _whatever_ it was, had to ask…

She knew anger. She’d grown up holding anger like a dagger in one hand, always ready to make people do what she told them. Anger had never… felt like _this._

Obviously, if she was crying, this couldn’t be happiness… For all people talked about tears of joy, this wasn’t that.

She _wished_ she was bored, but it wasn’t that, either.

Pride and triumph had never seen her crying on the floor.

So… What?

Her hands clenched a little tighter.

_It was a stupid feeling, why was this so hard?_

Like a kid with a missing toy, Chloe dug through her memories, taking hold of them, examining them, casting them aside.

The day she’d been Antibug.

_No._

The party she’d been forced to invite Marinette to.

_No._

The movie premier.

_No._

New Year’s Eve.

_No._

The tournament.

_No!_

_Six months of fighting, and Kagami hadn’t…_

Six months…

Less than six months.

Because, after the premier…

_Emptiness in her chest, hands itching for something to do, but finding nothing…_

She shuddered.

There it was. _Months_ of being ignored, and she’d tried to forget the whole thing.

Months of… _not fighting._

But this time she’d _won._ So… Why was that _worse?_

_Earlier, it had felt like bursting through a door into a bottomless pit. Now… She’d caught the side._

Winning was… Different from being ignored.

Right.

Because.

Because…

Chloe’s brow furrowed.

_Because it was… final._

_Victory meant no more fight._

She knew that she didn’t want to win like this, but…

_She didn’t want to win… at all._

But she didn’t want to lose…

She just…

She just wanted to keep fighting.

Her eyes opened.

_That was what hurt._

Her breathing shuddered out, and she heaved in a massive breath.

A second passed.

Two.

Three.

“Chloe?” said Kagami, and Chloe remembered her surroundings…

Specifically, she remembered that her ‘surroundings’ in this case, were mostly Kagami.

Firm pressure on her back, and her hands… Chloe realized that she was gripping Kagami’s jacket like it was her last lifeline. And, the top of her head… It was just like last week; the top of her head was up against Kagami’s jaw.

“Kagami,” she responded, unable to muster her anger from earlier.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said, her softness of her own voice making it grate in her throat.

“Good.”

Seconds passed.

“I thought winning would be more fun than this.”

Kagami didn’t respond.

“But I just want to keep fighting.”

There was a long silence, and Chloe felt Kagami’s head move above her. She’d looked up.

“There are two kinds of losers,” she said, after what felt like an interminable deliberation. A second passed. “There are the ones who give up, because they’ve already lost.” Another second. “And there are the ones who keep fighting because they don’t have anything left to lose.”

\--

Chloe’s head came up, and Kagami resisted the urge to shiver at the way her hair ran along her chin.

“Obviously, I’d be fighting at a disadvantage, since you’ve already won, but… I’d be glad to see if I could give you a challenge.” She looked down, and pulled her head away slightly so she could look Chloe in the eye.

Chloe… Chloe was a mess. Her eyes were a painful shade of red, her hair was a mess, her makeup, though presumably meant to withstand the rigors of fencing, had not been prepared for crying.

_“Is that… Is that meant to be a joke?”_

Kagami tried to keep her expression neutral.

“Yes.”

And then, voice still a bit unsteady, Chloe laughed.

It was still a day or two until the first day of spring, but to Kagami, it felt like the seasons had shifted early.

_“Well,”_ she said, “it wasn’t funny.”

“Then what does it mean that you laughed?”

“It means that I’m laughing _at_ you, not with you,” said Chloe, “besides, I thought you said you _‘didn’t want to fight me anymore.’”_

Kagami shrugged, unable to keep the smile from creeping onto her face.

“Maybe I changed my mind.”

_“You said it like five minutes ago.”_

“Maybe I _misspoke_.”

Chloe snorted.

“Maybe… I didn’t realize how much you cared about fighting me.”

Chloe stared, for a second, and then looked away, her face turning pink

“Yeah, well… That’s _your_ fault.”

“My fault,” Kagami said, blankly.

“Obviously,” said Chloe, but failed to offer any further commentary.

Seconds passed.

_“Honestly,_” said Chloe, “you stall for _so much time_ every time I come here.”

Kagami laughed. “I’m sorry.”

_“Shut up,”_ said Chloe, and Kagami could see the smile.

A few more seconds…

“So? Are we going to get up, then?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Well _obviously._”

And this time, when Kagami pulled away, Chloe let her. She was going to have to wash this jacket later.

They stood up, and as Chloe pulled away, Kagami couldn’t help feeling almost _proud._

Not even an Akuma to be seen.

“Come on then!” said Chloe, retrieving her foil and her helmet. “I swear you’d never get any fighting done if I wasn’t around.”

“Really.”

“Obviously,” said Chloe, and though Kagami couldn’t see her face, she knew Chloe was probably rolling her eyes. “You’re just lucky that I never hesitate.”

Kagami laughed aloud. “That’s _utterly_ _ridiculous_.”


	35. You Are Cordially Invited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is trying to be a friend, since apparently she's not Kagami's enemy anymore.  
Kagami has an idea.

Kagami hadn’t been sure whether she should have expected Chloe to _actually_ brag about her victory or not. She needn’t have worried.

As far as Kagami could tell, Chloe hadn’t said a single word to _anyone._

No gossip. No curious looks. No prying questions.

Even Adrien hadn’t said anything until the next time they’d sparred together.

\--

Adrien wasn’t an expert on _reading_ people, but he’d been fencing with Kagami for long enough by now that he knew _distracted_ when he saw it.

She wasn’t distracted.

She wasn’t _anything._

“So… How’d it go?”

Kagami had her helmet under one arm and had been using the other to idly flip the foil in her hand as they’d left the fencing strip. As he’d said that, she’d caught it one more time, and looked up at him.

“I don’t think she hates me anymore.” Kagami’s expression was a satisfied, proud smile, practically unrestrained. It wasn’t wild, but for Kagami, it might as well have been.

“That’s great!” said Adrien.

“But,” said Kagami, and if anything, she seemed _more_ pleased as she continued, “she still wants to fight.”

“Ah—” said Adrien, and momentarily retuned his brain. “And that’s… a good thing, right?”

“Mmm,” said Kagami, the smile curling a bit wider. “Yes.”

Adrien glanced over at her as they entered the locker room, internally trying to decide whether it was in poor taste to ask what had _happened._

“And…” he said, after a few seconds, “Did my advice… help?”

Kagami laughed aloud.

“I think so.”

“Oh?”

“It distracted me while we were fighting. I think that that was for the best.”

“I see,” said Adrien, not seeing.

Kagami seemed to recognize his confusion.

“As for _following_ your advice… I did. That seemed to help as well.”

“Oh, good.”

Silence for a few minutes.

“So… She doesn’t hate you…”

“No.”

“Does that mean… Does she _like_ you?”

Adrien could practically _see_ the ‘not responding’ message pop up on the monitor of Kagami’s mind, her hands freezing, still in the locker.

“I don’t know,” said Kagami, a tinge of red coloring her face.

“Well… Has she tried to talk to your during school?”

\--

“Kagami.”

She turned, feeling a still unfamiliar tingle in her chest at Chloe’s voice.

“Chloe,” she said, keeping her voice steady. There was a second of silence, and… There was no way that was all Chloe wanted to say.

“Can I help you?”

Chloe grimaced.

“No. I… Just realized that I’ve been using your house.”

There was a long silence. Kagami tilted her head, slightly

_“And,”_ continued Chloe, a bit hurriedly, “it _technically_ means that I have to pay you back. So… If you want to… Use my house- The Grand Paris- for… For anything…” She seemed to be struggling.

“Are you offering me a venue for an event?”

Chloe contrived to look both proud, affronted, and embarrassed at the same time.

“Well. I… I could do that, but… I…” She shook her head. _“Forget it.”_

She turned, and started walking, but some connection fired in Kagami’s head, and she stepped forward.

_“Wait,”_ she said, lightly placing a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. She stiffened, and Kagami, for a second, was afraid she’d offended her, but… She had to make sure.

“Are you… Inviting me to visit?”

Chloe didn’t turn, but Kagami could see her head incline slightly, in a motion that she didn’t quite recognize.

“I’m…” Chloe took a long, slow breath. “I’m saying that I’ve been using your house for fencing for long enough that… If you can find something you want in the Grand Paris… You’re welcome to it… And… You’ll probably be the most interesting thing around if you do, so let me know if you’re coming.”

And with that, she pulled away, and pressed her way out of the locker room.

Kagami stared after her, not knowing that her face had turned the same shade of red as Chloe’s had.

So… She was cordially invited, it seemed.

\--

The very instant she’d walked away that day, Chloe had begun trying to forget anything had happened.

She didn’t know _what_ she’d been thinking, but until the very moment she’d stepped up to Kagami, inviting her over to visit had seemed like the obvious choice with the whole ‘not enemies anymore’ thing.

And then she’d opened her mouth, said Kagami’s name, and… Everything after that was a mortifying blur. Chloe had very few friends to measure from, but she would have sworn that it was supposed to be less embarrassing than this.

Still. She could fight.

That was to say, fighting Kagami was so familiar to her at this point that it seemed physically impossible to panic over it at this point, which, right now, meant that for almost the past hour she’d been blissfully safe from any friend-embarrassment.

Kagami had delivered on her promise of still ‘offering a challenge.’ That was to say, Chloe could count on one hand how many hits she’d landed today. That was reassuring, especially considering what had happened _last_ week.

The timer rang, and for a second, Chloe almost thought that Kagami hadn’t heard it.

One round went by, and then two, and, just as Chloe was considering whether it would be worth it to act like she hadn’t heard it so they could keep fighting…

Kagami landed one final hit, and…

Her sword dropped, and Chloe matched the motion, the light tap of the blades coming instinctually at this point.

There was a second of silence, and then Kagami nodded, turning easily towards the lockers, and the way she was walking… It felt like an invitation for Chloe to stay by her side, slow enough that she had plenty of time to move with her if she felt like it.

Chloe _did_ match her, feeling almost nervous as she did so.

They walked, the only sound their own feet on the ground.

“Well done.”

“Oh?”

“You fought well today.”

“Oh.”

There was a long silence, as Chloe digested the compliment.

On the one hand, of _course_ she’d done well, she was _Chloe Bourgeois._ It was practically obvious. On the other hand…

“So did you,” she said, the words barely a whisper.

For a long, long second, Kagami didn’t respond.

Then…

“I appreciate that.”

Another second, and, even as Chloe was pulling off her helmet in preparation of going to her locker, Kagami pressed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

_She seemed to do that a lot, recently, and it always made the shoulder in question feel _weird_ for a while afterwards._

“But…” said Kagami. “I kind of know that already…”

Chloe blinked at her.

“I mean—” Kagami sighed, and it sounded almost pained. “That’s not what I meant. What I mean is… Between the two of us, I’m the only one who’s been fencing since she was a child.”

“Oh.”

“And I’ve been thinking about what you said, how you’ve been coming to my house to train, and that if I wanted something the Grand Paris, then I could have it, and…”

There was a long, long silence.

“I was just thinking that… you weren’t just training in my house, you were training _with me,_ and…” She trailed off, and Chloe could almost _feel_ her searching for the right way to continue the sentence, and…

“Are you…” Chloe felt her face turning red, “Are you asking me to teach you dancing?”

“Only if you want to,” said Kagami, and despite her normal, careful certainty, the line came out almost hurriedly. “I asked my mother, and she said it would be okay as long as you weren’t teaching me anything disreputable, and, I know you’re good at it, and…”

_She’d asked her mother._

_She’d gone to the trouble of making sure that she could do it before she’d even brought it up._

”W- well,” she said, feeling her voice beginning to lose its cohesion under _whatever_ this was. “I- Well. That’s…” She paused, trying to wrangle her tongue back into position.

“Yes. Obviously. I’ll… I’ll just need to know _when._”

Kagami, still wearing her facemask, nodded, and pulled her hand away.

“I was thinking… This time next week? We could alternate, every other week?”

Chloe, feeling strangely disarmed by this turn of events, nodded, silently, and pulled away from her, seeking shelter with her fencing gear.

_This… This was fine._

_She could handle this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I think Chloe's gonna have a bad time next chapter.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe panics, and thinks about gravity and escape.

Chloe didn’t know if she could handle this.

There was normally about a half hour between when school ended and when she needed to go to Kagami’s house.

Today, of course, she _wasn’t_ going.

She was _waiting,_ sitting silently in the lobby, trying not to panic_._

Of course, it wasn’t like she was waiting for an assault. She was just… She was just waiting for a friend to come over, so she could pay her back for an education in fencing.

That was _easy._

Finding a quiet place had been a bit of a challenge, of course; even though, or possibly _because_ most of the rooms were usually vacant, the hotel regularly played host to events. TV shows, private events, _public_ events… Chloe had grown up around cameras, almost as much as Adrien had.

The _point,_ though, was that despite all that, she _had_ in fact found a suitably vacant room; Kagami was going to arrive about half an hour after the end of an episode of ‘The World’s Greatest Chef,’ (The new season was apparently starting soon) and, if the hotel’s staff hadn’t suddenly lost _all_ skill, that was _more_ than enough time to clear out the tables, and make sure the kitchen was spotless. The _next_ time that ballroom was going to be used was after dark, for a private party of ‘Lunar Occultists,’ for a ‘Lunar Equinox Séance.’ Chloe, frankly, had no idea what _any_ of that meant, but the important thing was that the ballroom was vacant for several hours.

She had a _where,_ and she had a _when._ The why was easy enough, and the _what_ was obvious.

The only problem, weirdly, was _how._

Learning fencing was, in many ways, a simple matter of practice. You learned what the other person knew by paying attention, simply because you didn’t want to _lose._ And, as you learned to counter what they threw at you, the other person was forced to seek out new ways of keeping their advantage.

Dancing, meanwhile…

Theoretically, dance-offs aside, dancing wasn’t something you learned through _conflict._ Chloe had no intent of trying a dance-off with Kagami; she really wasn’t sure she was prepared to see Kagami try freestyle dancing. Of course, they _had_ kind of been fighting the last time they’d danced, but Chloe doubted that it had really taught Kagami anything other than force of will, which she’d already known anyway.

Did that mean she had to have some idea of what Kagami was supposed to learn on a given day? If Kagami came home without something to report, would her mother be _angry?_ What would happen if she _did_ get angry?

“Chloe?”

She looked up, and it felt like an electric shock to her soul. Kagami was looking gently down at her, and…

She was in a loose white dress shirt, tucked into a set of black pants.

That was… That was downright unfair.

_Nobody deserved to look that good in such a simple outfit._

Kagami seemed to notice her surprise.

“Adrien suggested the clothes; apparently I’m a ‘suit person.’”

_“Ahh,”_ said Chloe, not sure whether it was acknowledgement or panic.

“So,” said Kagami, seemingly not noticing that Chloe’s brain was a baseball and she’d just hit a homerun, “I assume we’re going somewhere other than the lobby?”

“Yes!” said Chloe, and then remembered who she was. “Obviously. There’s a ballroom that should be… empty by now.”

Kagami smiled, and Chloe was glad that she wasn’t standing, because that image might have knocked her off her feet. “Well, I suppose I have to let you lead, then.”

“W- Well, _obviously,”_ she said, standing, hoping that she’d hit the worst bump now, and she was safe after this. “Have you ever even _been_ here before?”

“New Year’s Eve,” said Kagami simply, and Chloe could have kicked herself. “Is it the same room?”

“I- No. No, they’ve got a banquet in there tonight, and they’re already getting ready for it.”

“I see. Is that a common occurrence?”

_“Very,”_ said Chloe, making for the ballroom.

_This was unfair. She’d known for months now that Kagami’s default state was perfectly poised, to a frankly distressing degree. Her hands were nimble, and her motions were confident._

_Chloe had been able to handle that when they’d been enemies, because her efforts had been focused towards making sure that she _destroyed_ her. There was no time for… this._

_Kagami had _gravity_, and there were two problems with gravity. The first problem was that you had to keep fighting it. And the other problem was that gravity got stronger the closer you were._

If she wasn’t _very_ careful, she was going to fall in…

_End of sentence. She was going to fall in because she was making a gravity metaphor and she hadn’t thought of anything else that could possibly have applied._

She resolutely kept herself from looking back, leading the way.

Up one flight of stairs, and then another, then out, and…

Chloe paused at the door to the smallest of the hotel’s ballrooms, praying, internally, that her assessment of the staff had been correct.

She pushed forward, and… Heaved a sigh of relief… internally.

The room was empty and dark.

She blindly reached out, and flicked one switch, two switches…

The lights slowly came up, making a barely audible hum.

Chloe stepped forward, feeling the pull in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was excitement or abject terror. Maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe there wasn’t a difference.

“Chloe?”

_Gravity grew stronger the closer you were, and today, she was going to get very close indeed. Close enough that… there would be no escape. If she wanted to get away, then only chance was to leave now, to run away and hope that it was enough._

“Are you okay?”

_If she wanted to get away…_

_If._

She put on her cockiest smile, and turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the east, and Kagami in a dress shirt and pants is the sun.'


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dancing! And this time, with tension that both participants recognize, and are utterly shredded by!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, this is the last chapter of the decade. Hope you're ready.
> 
> Actually, I kinda hope you're not, that's honestly the more fun option.

“So, I’m not supposed to teach anything ‘disreputable,’ if I recall.”

Kagami nodded.

“And that means… What?”

“I believe if there hadn’t been a ball to attend, and no stakes for not attending, she would never have thought it was worthwhile to have me taught. Considering the teacher she got for me… She would probably want the most strait-laced dancing you know.”

“I see,” said Chloe, looking away, the raw confidence flickering into consideration.

Kagami tapped a finger on her hip, the nerves she’d felt when she first walked in reasserting themselves in the silence. Her mouth seemed to have gone dry.

Chloe looked back up, and her expression was strange.

“And what do _you_ want?”

The answer came almost automatically, slipping loose in surprise before she could cover it.

_“Whatever you want to give me.”_

The room, already quiet, seemed to find a new level of silence to descend into.

Seconds passed.

_“Okay then,”_ said Chloe, in a quiet voice like the signature on a contract.

Then, she stepped forward, and it felt like Kagami was-

\--

-dying.

At least, Chloe was _pretty sure_ she was dying. After all, dying was kind of a matter of total bodily shutdown, and it certainly felt like she was about to collapse.

_“How much do you remember,”_ she said, desperately wishing that her voice would stop _rasping._

_“I…”_ said Kagami, visibly unnerved by her strange behavior. Her lips moved silently, as if trying to find some way of quantifying her recollections.

_“I think I can still follow.”_

Her legs were shaking, now, but she managed to raise her hands, one high, and the other low.

_“Show me?”_

Kagami nodded, and reached out, taking Chloe’s raised hand in hers. Then… She paused, before letting her hand land gently on Chloe’s shoulder.

And Chloe…

_She’d done it before. She’d been this close to Kagami before; closer, even. She’d danced with her. _

She let her hand press gently into Kagami’s waist.

_Now. All she had to do was dance._

_Dance, and ignore the fact that her vision was blurring, and her whole body was trembling._

_She stepped forward, blindly, and, in the dead silence of the room, she could feel Kagami match the motion._

_She hadn’t turned on any music._

_She took a second step, feeling, for a second, like she might lose her balance, but…_

_No._

_Not again._

_She’d walked into a wall because she’d been staring._

_She’d broken down crying because Kagami didn’t want to be her enemy._

_One more step, this time to the side, and with an effort, it was almost normal._

_She was here to teach Kagami dancing._

_She wasn’t going to ruin things again._

_\--_

Chloe took a deep breath, quick and steady, as if she was in the middle of a fight, and Kagami _felt_ more than saw a shift in her movements.

Her motions accelerated, and seemed to grow more precise, and strangely, that helped; as Kagami had to focus a bit more on her motions, it felt more like a dance and less like… Something else.

Forward, back, and around, and then-

_“Good,”_ said Chloe, and-

Kagami spun out, feeling, for a second, as if she’d left her body behind.

_“And through.”_

Instead of spinning back in, she kept going, Chloe’s hand, holding lightly onto hers, guiding the motion.

She returned.

_“Perfect,” _whispered Chloe, with a gentle fire that reached straight into Kagami’s heart, and set it blazing.

There was no music, but Kagami wouldn’t have heard it anyway. She was on fire, and nothing else mattered.

\--

_She had meant that the motion had been perfect. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that had been her intention. But the word that had actually escaped her lips had been something else entirely._

As the two of them went in a tight half-circle, Chloe tried, feebly, to remember that Kagami had come here to learn dancing. _She was paying off a debt, not… Not anything else, _however much she wanted to.

It didn’t matter that _‘whatever you want to give me’_ sounded, at the right angle, like something meaningful; Kagami doubtless had a history of learning whatever her teachers knew. It didn’t _matter_ that…

_She was smiling._ Kagami was smiling at her, and Chloe, in all the months they’d fought, had never prepared for that. She was so close, and her _eyes…_ Chloe had always thought they were cold and hard, but then, Kagami had always been her enemy before; now, it was like she was staring into the light of a candle, bright and warm, and soft and smooth.

And if her eyes weren’t bad enough… The rest of Kagami had always felt like something inhuman, her face porcelain and painted on, her hands too precise and mechanical, her muscles steel cords under the skin. She’d been this close to her before, even danced with her, but only now did she realize… The girl whose hand was in hers was warm, and human, and-

As if in response to the thought, Kagami’s hand tightened slightly around hers, her thumb running gently along the back of it, and Chloe… tightened her own grip in response, knowing that if she stopped dancing, paused for an instant to let herself think, there was every chance that she’d break down crying again.

_She’d already promised herself she wouldn’t do that._

She sped up her steps again, praying to anyone who would listen that she could at least make it through this.

\--

Kagami didn’t know how long they’d danced. All she knew was that however much she wanted to stay like this forever, her body had other ideas; her legs shook under her, her hand slipping away from Chloe’s. She’d felt her motions growing less precise, but it hadn’t mattered. Until… She tripped over her own feet.

She staggered, trying to recover her balance, but-

Chloe’s hand tightened on hers, her other arm slipping around Kagami’s waist, and…

Her whole body spun, as Chloe pivoted, and, instead of falling…

She was hanging in the air, pressed firmly up against Chloe, who was staring, shocked, into her eyes.

_She was so close, now. Only a few inches._

“I’m sorry,” said Chloe.

Kagami blinked.

_“This is…” _Chloe shook her head, turning very, _very_ red, “This is _awful_ form.” She brought her other arm around Kagami’s back, and straightened up. Kagami reached up, grabbing for her shoulders.

And then, she was upright.

Chloe looked her in the eyes for a second, and then, vigorously shaking her head, let her go.

_“I… I’m sorry,”_ said Chloe, quickly turning away.

“What?”

“You came here to learn how to dance,” said Chloe, now making for the door, oddly pulled in on herself, “and I… I don’t think I taught you a single thing this whole time!”

\--

If there had been cameras on them this time, Chloe knew that they would have said that _she’d_ wanted to kiss _Kagami,_ and this time… They’d have been right. She’d have given _anything_ to have closed the distance between them. But Kagami had come here to learn dancing, and she’d taken that invitation, and she’d twisted it in her mind, and…

_Curse her luck to have fallen in love with the one girl who was horribly, irrevocably out of her league._

It was fine. Next time, she’d just have to be ready for it. That was all. She just needed to recover herself, and-

_“Chloe!”_

She turned, and saw Kagami, staggering forward, and… She didn’t look angry. She just seemed confused, and… Tired, shirt soaked through with sweat, motions shaky.

“Are you okay?”

The question took Chloe by surprise, in a way that made her stomach go weak.

“I’m the one who should be asking _you,”_ she said, with an effort.

Kagami gave her a steady look, and then turned her head away, the corners of her mouth quirking up.

“Well, I asked first.”

“Well… I asked second, and you look like you’re about to collapse.”

Kagami rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

“I’ll be fine, if I can just sit down for a few minutes.”

“Yeah. Well… I’m… Fine. Is your ride here?”

“I imagine he’s been waiting.”

Chloe nodded, pulling out her phone.

Her eyes widened.

“I guess so. We were supposed to be done half an hour ago.”

Kagami pulled hers out, and…

She paused, and… frowned, tapping lightly and urgently for several seconds.

Chloe gave her a questioning look.

After a bit, Kagami looked back up.

“What?”

“It looks like my ride _isn’t_ here.”

Chloe blinked. “What? Why?”

Kagami nodded at the door. “There’s an Akuma loose.”

Chloe frowned, and turned.

She pushed the door open, and stepped into the hallway.

There hadn’t been any sound, no quaking or rumbling, no screams of terror.

She looked out at the city, wondering if there would be some strange devastation, and…

She looked down at her phone again.

It was only 6, but… No… No matter how late it was, this wasn’t right.

Outside the windows, everything was pitch black.

No streetlights, no sunlight, no lights from windows… _nothing._

“I see…” she said.

And, more to the point, she _thought._

Because, if Kagami’s ride wasn’t here, and the darkness outside was dangerous, as it certainly had to be…

“I suppose this means I’m trapped here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact, the Akuma lockdown thing was originally meant to happen the next time Kagami came over, but honestly, I'm not sure how that level of romantic tension is supposed to survive for two weeks. Even one week's kind of a stretch.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Kagami spend a few minutes get a handle on what exactly is affecting the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've had some high tension chapters, so it seems like a good time to bring things down a bit. Everybody's kind of tired, and they've both managed to kind of recover from their dancing fever for the moment, so...

_“Stay inside. That’s the first thing I feel obligated to say. Stay inside and keep the lights on, and the windows shut._

_“Alright. Now that I’ve got the urgent stuff out of the way, what’s up everyone, it’s your favorite Ladyblogger back at it again with a live update.”_

As the elevator door shut, Chloe and Kagami stared down at the screen, which was playing the recorded livestream that Alya had sent out the better part of an hour ago.

“Where are we going?” said Kagami, finger hovering over the buttons.

_“Uh,”_ said Chloe mind not entirely present, torn simultaneously between the question, the video, and the fact that Kagami wasn’t going home. “fifth floor.”

“Top floor?”

“No, uh… Fifth counting the ground floor. The top floor is the roof”

_“…and this one seems like kind of a _shady character,” said Alya from the screen, and laughed, _“yeah… I’m not funny. Anyway, there’s no word yet on where Ladybug and Chat Noir are, but I’m sure they’re working on it as we speak._

_”In the meantime, I’ve got some info sent in by my followers, so I guess we’ll just run through that.” _A few seconds of scrolling as she looked away from the camera.

_“Okay, first thing’s first, user Benjoulemin tells us that the Akuma _is_ in fact visible. Apparently, if you see a light out there, that’s probably the Akuma, and… Yeah, NotPayingAttention corroborates that, and says that ‘he called himself Grim Lantern.’”_

Alya looked into the camera. “That’s gotta be copyright infringement,” she said, as the elevator bell _dinged._

They stepped out of the elevator, Kagami still looking over Chloe’s shoulder.

She shook her head. _“Anyway. Uh… Let’s see… Apparently this guy likes saying his name a lot because it seems like most people know it already… Okay, here’s some more info; user Squareleven apparently has a sister who got caught in the darkness for a few seconds. Apparently, it’s… Uh… Freaky. Exact words are ‘Like it’s trying to get inside your soul.’ Looks like it’s not a Princess Fragrance situation, though, since apparently she’s doing alright now!”_

_“Now, one more time! Safety: Stay inside, keep the lights on, keep the windows shut. At least one of those is working for me. Now, if I get more info, I’ll be sure to update you, but for now—”_

“How long do you think it’ll take them?” asked Kagami, as Chloe stopped the video.

Chloe shrugged.

“Who knows? What was the longest one?”

“You’d know better than I would.”

She _had_ been in Paris back when the attacks had started.

“The longest one _I_ remember was when Daddy was turned into Malediktator. That took _all day. _It was almost _midnight_ by the time Ladybug and I defeated him.”

“I see,” said Kagami, and there was a long pause. “And where were we going on the fourth floor?”

Chloe remembered, abruptly, that after getting out of the elevator, there _had_ been a plan.

And the plan had been…

“My room,” she said aloud, feeling, suddenly, as if she’d made a dangerous choice.

Kagami, though, nodded as if it made perfect sense.

They walked down the short hallway to the room, and Chloe pulled the door open.

_They say you should never yank doors open when there’s a fire on the other side._

Chloe staggered backwards as a wash of black mist rolled across her, practically _pulled_ from the room by the motion of the air.

For a second, it felt like she was suffocating, sinking into the depths of the ocean, with no hope of ever…

The sensation receded, and Chloe recovered her balance as Kagami shoved up against her back with a shoulder and a forearm, bolstering her.

She stood back up properly, and…

Through the door to her room, everything was _pitch black._

Or… Not quite. Across the threshold, there was a small ray of light, cutting into the darkness, and Chloe could see…

In her shadow, like snow in shade on a day _just_ too warm for snow, there was a black mist, grasping wisps of smoke, pressing outwards, and dissipating.

Chloe took a step to the side, and the smoke dissipated as the light hit it, only for new bits to flow into her shadow.

“So… Another room, then?” said Kagami.

That was the smart option, sure enough, but…

“It doesn’t like the light,” she said aloud, “So…”

She pulled out her phone, and, in a few taps, had the light on.

“Chloe…” said Kagami, a bit of concern tinting her voice.

“This is fine,” said Chloe, pressing forward, slightly, noting how more of the floor came into view as she advanced. “I just need to…”

She reached the phone through the door, and angled it as far as she could to the right.

Then, praying that she wasn’t about to reach straight into darkness, she reached over, and…

‘Reaching into her soul’ was right. It was like a leaden weight on her chest, but, as she flailed, a bit wildly, she found what she was looking for, and…

Nothing…

She retracted her hand, shaking it, annoyed.

“Why?”

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “I was trying to turn on the lights. _Obviously,_ it doesn’t like the light, so-

Light cut through from the inside of the room.

“So, you fumigated it,” said Kagami, slowly nodding. “Clever.”

“Mhm,” said Chloe, blushing slightly. Then, nudged by an instinct that normally sat unattended…

“Oh, and… thanks for making sure I didn’t fall.”

Kagami smiled. “Of course.”

Chloe pushed forward, into her room.

Even as she entered, she saw the last few proper remnants of the darkness burning away in the corners, and…

“I suppose that’s the problem,” said Kagami, mildly, looking across the room.

The doors to the balcony were wide open, a chilly spring breeze blowing its way into the room, carrying thick billows of darkness that rapidly dispersed in the lights from above. It was kind of strange, but… The weather seemed normal, if you imagined that the city was covered in a dry fog… Or possibly, that it was full of smoke from a cold fire. Whatever.

“Do you have a pole?”

Chloe pulled a face.

“Do _most_ people have poles just lying around?”

Kagami shrugged.

“I see no point in getting closer than necessary.”

Chloe shrugged.

“Alright, well… Fine. I actually _do _have…” Chloe processed where her mind had gone.

“Yes?”

Well, screw it, this was her best choice.

“…a pole lying around,” she finished, lamely.

She walked away, into her room, and, to her embarrassment, Kagami followed her. She didn’t say a word, but as Chloe reached under her bed, and pulled out a large box, she could feel her eyes on the back of her head.

She pulled the case open, and…

They were a mess of course, but-

“Is that a Ladybug outfit?”

Chloe grimaced.

“No,” she said, reaching below the Ladybug outfit, “it is…” she pulled out what she’d been looking for, “this.”

Kagami blinked at the black stick, not more than a foot long.

Chloe clicked the button, and the baton extended to full length.

Kagami pulled back for a second, and…

“So not only a Ladybug costume, but a Chat Noir one as well.”

“Absolutely not,” said Chloe, as she closed the lid on the Ladybug and Chat Noir costumes. “This is an unrelated extending baton prop that I keep around for _completely_ not superhero reasons.”

Kagami looked back at the box.

“And you’re a guest in my house so you’re legally not allowed to look in that box unless I say you can.”

Kagami raised her eyebrows as Chloe made her way back to the door.

She had to get off to the side, and kind of guess as to where the door actually _was,_ since it was hidden in the swirling darkness, but…

The pole made contact, and with pressure…

It took a bit of pressing against the breeze, but after a second, the door clicked shut.

She could still see tiny wisps of darkness slipping through the cracks, but… That was _nothing_ in comparison to what it had been.

Okay. That was… That was problem one solved, right?

Now all she had to deal with was…

Kagami…

In her room…

Where she might plausibly remain for quite some time…

This might be a problem.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chloe decides that looking through Kagami's old texts is the lesser of two dangers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... I might need to invest in longer chapters, in future. These last two have hit the mark real quick, and I feel like there's room to get the bites a bit bigger...

Kagami was leaned up against the wall when Chloe looked back.

“So,” she said, “what now?”

Chloe paused, and, after a second, shrugged.

“How should I know? I was expecting you to go home when we were done?”

“It’s your house,” countered Kagami, “I wasn’t expecting to be here any more than you were.”

Chloe put up a hand loosely in front of her as if to say ‘Well?’

There was silence.

“A shower and a change of clothes?”

Chloe paused, and nodded, slowly. “I can make that work.” She made for the bathroom, gesturing for Kagami to follow her.

Kagami did so, following her into…

“This seems unnecessary.”

“High class,” Chloe corrected, not looking back. “The showerheads are each controlled by the handle underneath them. The left knob controls force, and the right one handles temperature. Don’t use the…” she pulled the curtain aside, for an instant. “_green_ bottle. I don’t know what it would do to your hair. Also, the hair remover you sent me is in there.”

“Chloe, you do realize that even though it looks like a shampoo bottle-

“I know!” said Chloe, a bit defensively as she turned back, “but…” she grimaced. “Look. Back when I hated you, it was a whole _thing_ that I couldn’t just _throw it away,_ so I had to keep it _somewhere,_ and I thought it would be really insulting to keep it right next to me but never use it.”

“I see.”

“Now,” said Chloe, looking her up and down, “are those clothes dry-clean, machine wash, or hand wash?”

Kagami blinked.

Chloe gestured. “If you’re going to be stuck here, I’d rather not have your clothes piling up in the middle of nowhere, and I _don’t_ want them to end up with mine.”

Kagami tilted her head.

“You wouldn’t get them back for, like, a week.”

“Mm,” said Kagami. “I actually don’t know. Adrien got them for me.”

Chloe nodded, pulled out her phone, and…

She turned red.

“I don’t suppose _you_ could ask Adrien about it, could you?”

Kagami, mentally, retraced the path that Chloe must have taken, and… Oh.

She looked at the shower, and then…

She pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and maneuvered to her most recent conversation with Adrien.

“Don’t say anything that doesn’t sound like me, and it shouldn’t be an issue.”

She placed the phone on the sink, and, as an afterthought, checked her pockets, but they were empty otherwise.

\--

Chloe turned away from the shower, and stepped past Kagami going the other way. She picked up the phone.

_‘Adrien, are the…_

She paused, deleted it.

_‘Are the…_

_‘The pants that you sent me…_

She didn’t actually know how Kagami texted.

She looked over, mouth opening to speak, and-

Looked instantly back down, away from Kagami, carefully hanging her shirt from the knob of one of the drawers.

Okay.

No, this was fine. She’d just… she’d just get a sample of how she texted.

She scanned up the messages above

_‘I believe in you! You’re going to do great!’_

Adrien had sent it about 3 hours ago…

Normally, the words ‘invasion of privacy’ wouldn’t even have appeared in Chloe’s head but…

Maybe she should just-

Kagami had taken off her undershirt as well, and was hanging it on the next knob over.

Chloe resolutely vowed not to look over again until she was already in the shower.

She opened her mouth to ask but…

Images of Kagami pausing what she was doing and coming over to answer in her underwear pinged on Chloe’s mind like incoming enemies on a radar.

She looked a bit higher on the conversation, reading backwards through it.

_‘lol’_

‘I don’t think I want to learn.’

_‘Wow, that’s actually worse, somehow.’_

_‘T e C h N I Q u E.’_

_‘You know what, I’m actually not going to apologize.’_

_‘The I autocapitalized, sorry.’_

_‘T e c h n I q u e .’_

Chloe rubbed at her eyes, wondering if this conversation was going to make more sense by the beginning.

She scrolled up, and blinked, at… Adrien had sent a selfie.

He was posed for the camera. The lighting, even though he obviously didn’t have a set of dedicated lights, was _immaculate,_ and his expression managed a combination of dashing and endearing that Chloe was absolutely certain would set the average girl’s heart alight.

Ah. ‘Technique.’

‘What do you mean by technique?’

_‘But also, I’ve got to try teaching you selfie technique’_

_‘You look great!’_

Adrien had sent a thumbs-up.

And then…

There was an image of Kagami, perfectly upright, with the camera in front of her face. She was wearing the formalwear.

There was the sound of a shower curtain pulling, and internally, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.

She paused, waited a second for the matching sound of the curtain _closing,_ and looked back up at the mirror.

So…

‘How do I clean the clothes you sent me?’

She’d probably been overthinking this.

Adrien would get back to her in a minute, no doubt, and she’d be on her way, and really, why would he think it was anyone but Kagami asking?

Now.

She looked over at the carefully hung formalwear, and…

There were the pants, of course, and the overshirt, the undershirt, but that was it.

Silently she made her way over to the cabinet they were hung from, and, frowning, squatted down to pull them loose.

“Chloe?” came Kagami’s voice.

“Yes?” said Chloe, looking up.

“Why is there a pedestal in the middle of this shower?”

“Uh- It’s for you to sit on,” she said, still distracted.

“I see…” said Kagami, and Chloe could just barely make out the sound of her sitting down. She sighed, gently, probably relieved to be off her feet, and…

“Are you ready?”

Chloe froze, mentally running straight into a brick wall.

Ready for…?

Was she missing something here?

She ran through all the options she could come up with for something that _wasn’t_ absolutely terrifying.

“Yes?” she said, never feeling _less_ ready for anything.

_“Good,”_ said Kagami, and in Chloe’s peripheral vision, she saw…

For a second, she couldn’t parse what she was seeing coming over the shower curtain, and then, her hand grabbed out, finding something cloth, and-

The second object landed directly on her face, and Chloe fell back, landing with a thump on the bathroom floor.

“Chloe!?” said Kagami, sounding almost scared.

“I’m fine!” she called, realizing what Kagami had meant as she pulled the bra from her face. “I’m… Fine.”

The shower curtain pulled back, and Chloe managed to focus on Kagami’s head poking around the edge.

There was a moment of silence, as Kagami took in the scene.

“You've got really good aim,” she said.

There was a pause, as Kagami seemed to take in the scene, and then... Kagami laughed, almost abashed, and as she pulled the curtain closed, Chloe had to resist the urge to make a slightly undignified sound. There was probably a word for the bubbling joy that Kagami's laughter put in her stomach, but it wasn't coming to mind right now.

“I suppose I should have just… Left them on the counter.”

“Maybe,” said Chloe, pulling herself back into a sitting position, consolidating the clothing into a single pile in her arms.

“I just assumed it would be indecent to remove them while I was still _outside _the shower, and…” Kagami laughed again, a bit nervously, from the other side of the curtain. “If I’ve _actually_ gotten you concussed this time…”

Chloe blushed remembering what that had entailed _last_ time, and comparing it with Kagami’s current state.

_“…then I’ll stay put of my own volition,” _she finished.

There was the sound of the first showerhead starting up as she hurriedly stood up. No point in sticking around long enough that she made an even _bigger_ fool of herself.

She pulled her head back as she finagled the door open, the clothes pressing a little too close for comfort, and…

There was a tag. On the inside of the collar of the shirt, there was a tag, and-

Chloe managed to get a hand free, and holding the bundle of slightly damp clothes, flipped the tag up.

She ran quickly through the other garments, and checked _their_ tags as well.

“Kagami!?” she called over her shoulders.

“Yes?”

“They’re machine washable!”


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagami takes a shower.  
Chloe does laundry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As considered in the last chapter, this one's double length. Feels a bit more meaty, but I definitely felt the extra length in the writing time. Much to consider.

For a long, long moment, Kagami just sat there, letting the scalding water blast across her back.

It had been quite a day… More accurately, quite an hour, or… maybe two hours.

Whatever.

She sighed, softly, and straightened her back, crossing her arms in front of her. A faint smiled played at the edges of her mouth.

It was strange to be around Chloe. She’d gotten so used to the cutting comments and the unrelenting anger that simply talking to her normally felt… Exciting? It was _strange,_ but… in a good way; she seemed so…

So…

The image of Chloe, lying on the ground, visibly embarrassed, with an armful of clothes, swam before Kagami’s eyes, and she let out an involuntary chuckle. It was… cute.

She felt her face go red at the thought, and actually glanced to either side, as if making sure nobody had heard it, but… the room was empty, the shower was loud, and as far as she was aware, there were no mind readers in this hotel.

She looked down, still blushing.

The word was oddly foreign to her, but… It had _been_ cute; that was the right word for it. For an instant it had made her want to step out of the shower and pull Chloe upright just for the chance to take her hand, and were it not for the whole _currently naked in the shower_ thing, she probably would have.

For a second, she just sat there, letting the mental image play out. Then, she blinked, and realized that she was, in fact, _still in the shower,_ and had done nothing more than sit in place with hot water on her back. Chloe was probably going to want a shower of her own after this.

She shook her head, and looked around for some soap.

\--

Chloe entered the elevator, the bundle of clothes still in her arms, and clicked the button to head to the lobby, before some bit of her mind nudged her, and she reconsidered, adding the basement.

Technically speaking, it would probably have been smarter to wait until they’d _both_ had a shower before she…

No, no, that was stupid; the only reason _these_ needed washed so quickly was because she wanted to get them back to Kagami before she left. If she didn’t get them back by then, the that would mean she’d be holding onto Kagami’s clothes for maybe a week, and…

She frowned.

Whatever dire repercussions would come from having to keep Kagami’s clothes in her room, the point was that it wouldn’t be an issue for her _own_ clothes.

The elevator _dinged_ as she reached the lobby, now almost entirely empty. The person at the desk, still there, glanced over at her, looked away, looked back, frowned, and… The door closed.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

A few more seconds passed, in relative silence, and the elevator _dinged_ again.

She stepped out, into a hallway that… Well, it wasn’t as lavishly appointed as the upper floors, but she supposed that if you were just a worker, it would probably be fine enough. The sounds of rumbling and clanking filled the air, presumably part of some essential machinery of the hotel.

Chloe hardly remembered the last time she’d been down here, but, if she recalled correctly_…_

Tentatively, she took a few steps to the left.

There had been a washing room, right? Somewhere down here, there were like… 50 washing machines in a single room, and… Something like that?

She took another uncertain step, remembered who she was, and, straightening, started striding in the direction of where she hoped she correctly remembered the washroom as being.

Ahead of her, the hallway bent, and from around the corner…

She could hear voices, coming from a door ahead of her on the right, but… There was a rhythmic juddering noise ahead on the left, a bit further on.

She stepped forward, some corner of her brain fervently hoping that whoever was in the room wasn’t looking at the door, because…

She glanced in as she passed the room with the voices, and saw three people in what looked like a small break room, seemingly caught up in some significant discussion.

_“In what possible context does that make any sense?”_

_“According to the article, horse thieves.”_

She blinked, but kept walking, and, as she reached the door she’d been thinking of…

There was a large bank of white washing machines, driers, and what looked like a large sink, full of steaming water. Several of the machines were in use, right now, and there was a young man, not much older than her, sitting in a chair by the door, on his phone.

She stepped into the doorway, and confirmed her suspicion that he was the only person in the room.

He seemed to notice her presence, but didn’t look up. “All the hand-wash stuff is done already. Got it hung up and everything. Got a drier finishing up in like…” he flicked a finger on his phone, checking the clock, “20 minutes.”

Chloe looked down at him, and rolled her eyes.

“I’m not here to hear about your _washing._ I’m here to give you more.”

He looked up, straight ahead, and then turned to look at her.

There was a long second where he didn’t seem to comprehend what he was seeing, and then…

“Chloe Bourgeois?”

She scoffed, feeling the heat rising in her face. “Obviously? I need this washed immediately and brought up the _instant_ it’s done.” She offloaded the clothes onto his lap.

He blinked. Looked down. Back up.

“Uh… Yeah. Sure.” He opened his mouth as if to ask a question, and closed it again.

\--

He shoved his phone back in his pocket, and, a bit uncertainly, stood up.

_What was Chloe Bourgeois _doing down here? Why was she offering him… Men’s dress clothes?

He turned to look again, to make sure that he’d gotten it right, and… She’d already left.

So… No, probably, he wasn’t hallucinating. It didn’t seem like it was that kind of Akuma. But if he wasn’t hallucinating, then what…

Absently, he checked the tags, discovered that the clothes were machine washable, realized that there was also a set of women’s underwear in here, and…

A minute or so later, he’d set the washer going on its truly underwhelming load, left the underwear to soak, and retired to the break room.

“Did you guys see that?”

“What?”

“Chloe Bourgeois? Showing up in person with laundry?”

There was a shared, rather unbelieving glance across the folding table.

“Mm?”

He shrugged. “I dunno. That’s what happened. She must’ve walked passed you on the way in, right? Did you not see her?”

They shrugged.

“Okay, well, it _happened,_ and I swear, the clothes I have washing aren’t even hers.”

“Well, if it wasn’t her clothes, it’s probably just someone else, and you got confused,” said one.

“You expect me to believe that _Chloe Bourgeois_ was carrying someone else’s clothes?” cut in another.

He shrugged in an ‘I don’t know what you expect me to say,’ kind of way.

There was another shared glance across the table, and they looked back at him in puzzlement and interest.

They were bored, and this… Either he was confused, hallucinating, or… Whatever the case, it sounded more interesting than what they’d _been_ doing.

\--

Chloe, as she rode the elevator back up, idly ran her hands down the front of her shirt, hoping that that would remove the persistent dampness she’d picked up from the clothes, but no such luck. She sighed, and, for a second, idly wondered how Ladybug and Chat Noir would be handling this. By now, they had to have figured out that light could cut through it, but beyond that, she really didn’t know how they’d be able to fight through it.

Alya would probably have some breakdown on how they’d done it by tomorrow.

Vaguely, Chloe considered the possibility that Ladybug would show up with the Bee Miraculous. It was technically an option, but… Probably not. It didn’t seem like this villain was especially in need of paralysis, and despite how amazing she was _even without_ her special ability_,_ Chloe had gotten used to Ladybug _not_ showing up.

The elevator bell _dinged,_ and she stepped out into the hallway.

Laundry deposited, and it had only taken…

Only taken…

For the first time since she’d left the room, the idea occurred to her, put forth by some corner of her brain she hadn’t been paying attention to, that carrying laundry was grunt work, and, as such, beneath her.

She paused, hand on her own doorknob.

The discomfort in her stomach at the eyes of the employees seeing her rose up again, and this time she was paying attention to it.

Because of _course_ having them see her was uncomfortable. She was Chloe Bourgeois; of _course_ she didn’t do laundry. That was part of who she _was,_ it was part of her _reputation._ Or… Well, if nothing else, nobody _saw_ her doing laundry, or… Carrying it, or… Whatever. Somehow, she’d forgotten about that for a few minutes. If she’d _remembered…_

_If she’d remembered…_

Chloe looked up, frowning.

_It wouldn’t have made a difference._

Because there was no telling how long the darkness would stick around, and if she delayed, there was every chance that Kagami would have to go home without her formal clothes. It didn’t matter that Kagami could just take them back next week, and surely wouldn’t need them in the meantime. It didn’t matter that it was a stupid thing to care about…

She just…

She’d wanted to do it, because…

“Chloe?”

She stiffened, at the muffled sound of Kagami’s voice through the door. She couldn’t hear the shower anymore, and…

She opened the door.

“Yes?”

And… She stopped, because…

Kagami had indeed exited the shower, and now she was standing outside of the bathroom door, wrapped in the bright yellow towel that Chloe always kept hanging on a peg nearby. Her hair, soaking wet, was slicked back, out of her face, and somehow, despite being almost dry, it almost felt as if she was radiating the warm, comfortable steam of a hot shower.

Chloe got the impression she was supposed to say something, but her train of thought had been derailed, and she was having a hard time setting up a new one.

Kagami was just looking at her, as if waiting for something, but after a second, she seemed to give up on that.

“Does this mean you didn’t get any clothes ready?”

Chloe blinked.

“What?”

“For me to wear.”

“You… You didn’t bring any?”

“Of course not. I intended to leave immediately.”

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, and… Mentally, ran back through the past ten minutes.

“Where would I have been keeping them?” said Kagami, arriving at the same sticking point Chloe had just found.

_No bag. No pockets even remotely big enough._

Chloe felt her face going red in embarrassment.

“W- Well… It’s… _obvious_, when you put it like _that.”_

Kagami raised her eyebrows, in a way that seemed more amused than annoyed.

“I suppose I didn’t make that clear.”

“No! No, it should have been…” She shook her head. “Follow me.” And, so saying, she set off towards her room.

_What had she been thinking? Was Kagami supposed to have been holding a sneaky change of clothes while she was standing in the shower?_

_Was-_

_Whatever._

_She’d just get the clothes now, and everything would be fine. She had plenty of clothes; there was bound to be something that would work._


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe leaves Kagami to her fate, takes a shower, and regrets her decision.  
Kagami searches for suitable clothes.
> 
> And really, there are worse people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I paused, many times, while writing this chapter, and I was like 'Hey, maybe some of this is too self-indulgent, and also I've kind of reused the same thing a few too many times.'
> 
> Then I was like, 'wait a second. This is my fic. I can write whatever the hell I like.'  
So enjoy, the absolutely necessarily self-indulgent chapter (featuring a bit of lampshading)

Even as she opened the closet, Chloe already knew that this would be harder than she’d thought.

Her clothes were… bright. As her mother said, ‘tacky and eye-catching are always next to each other.’ Usually, the next line was about how _this particular_ piece of clothing fell solidly on the tacky side, but the point was…

Kagami’s clothes, much like Kagami herself, were… elegant. They were much less about the concept, and much more about the execution.

_And,_ Chloe’s mind supplied, _much more about the girl wearing them._

The point was, they had different styles.

And, more to the point…

She turned back to Kagami, who had followed her in, and was now frowning at the row of jackets.

Mentally, Chloe took some measurements, and grimaced. She’d hoped she was just imagining things, but even accounting for the padding of the towel, there was no denying it; finding a set of clothes that fit would be a bit of an issue. Kagami’s shoulders alone were wide enough that she’d be straining the limits of most of the fitted styles that Chloe was used to.

Chloe wasn’t exactly heavy set, and Kagami… Well, honestly, muscle probably accounted for most of the difference, but the point was…

Kagami held up a jacket, similar to the ones Chloe normally wore to school, but functionally unwearable because of the styling on the cuffs (now horribly out of style), and frowned, silently hanging it up against her body.

“My normal clothes are too small,” said Chloe, forestalling the question she knew was coming.

“I see.”

“And the last time baggy clothes were in style, I was small, and I got rid of my sweatpants when my mother came back…”

Kagami nodded, solemnly.

“Which leaves…”

“Which leaves?”

“Stretchy.”

Kagami raised her eyebrows.

“Stretchy,” she repeated, flatly.

Chloe shrugged in a ‘what other option do I have’ kind of way, and moved to the corner of the closet where she kept such things.

“Pretty much all of them are meant to be worn _under_ something, but…” she said, trailing off.

Kagami didn’t seem to, but looked dubiously at the selection of options.

Chloe sighed. “Listen, I’m… I’m sorry, okay, but I don’t know what else I’ve got that would _fit._ Even _these are… _a stretch.”

Kagami gave her a _look,_ and then… chuckled.

For a second, Chloe, fiddled around with the assorted bodysuits and- Well, that at least was a set of yoga pants, albeit one that was far too small to be comfortable for Kagami.

“I’ll… I’ll go take my shower now,” she said, shaking her head in defeat, grabbing a set of her normal clothes. What else was she supposed to do, here? It wasn’t like she could just create clothes out of thin air.

Kagami nodded, looking solemnly around at the contents of the closet.

\--

As Chloe left, Kagami was left to consider her fate.

When she’d arrived, hours ago, she’d seen dancing in her future, and then a quiet evening at home. The Akuma had been a surprise.

And now… She sighed, closing the closet door after Chloe. Now, she was trying to find an outfit she was willing to wear, in a closet of clothes fitted for a girl who was significantly smaller than her.

As an afterthought, she locked the door.

Now…

Silently, she ran a finger along the line of clothes that simply wouldn’t fit.

It was strange; she didn’t make a habit of paying attention to clothes, and couldn’t, off the top of her head, say what the difference was between, say, Chloe’s clothes, and those of some random girl off the street, but… As she looked at the assembled wardrobe, she could practically feel, with grim certainty, that all of these had been exquisitely fitted.

Her eyes twitched back, glancing once more at the selection of… what was that, spandex? That was the material?

She glanced down at herself, and more specifically, at the towel she was wearing, for the first time considering the possibility of not even getting dressed and just…

Just…

There was a box, or… a drawer, really, sitting beneath the hanging clothes, shoved into the corner of the room. It was shiny black plastic, and seemed like it was by far the cheapest thing in the room.

Kagami frowned, and knelt.

\--

It was a minute or so earlier.

Chloe let out a yelp of pain as the water hit her, scalding hot, and almost fell over. She managed to keep her feet, and kept out of the stream, sliding around until she could adjust the temperature down.

A quick inspection revealed that the other shower heads had been set similarly hot, and Chloe shook her head.

_She’d have to be ready for that…_

_Next time?_

_How often, exactly, did she expect Kagami to use her shower?_ _Probably not often, considering the circumstances that had led to it this time._

She grabbed the shampoo, double-checking, as she’d gotten used to, that it wasn’t the hair remover, and started in on her hair.

She wasn’t really sure if she’d made the right call, here.

On the one hand, yes, she’d have needed to get out of the closet, and possibly the room, as soon as Kagami had picked something out to wear, but on the other hand, if she’d stuck around…

Then again, what was she supposed to accomplish by sticking around? Did she expect to find something Kagami could actually wear, or…

She shook her head, and left the shampoo to sit for a minute. She picked up a bar of soap.

That was the problem, though. Everything she wore _literally_ fell into that dichotomy of fitted or stretchy.

In effect, they would probably be stuck with whatever Kagami picked until her clothes were finished cleaning, which… Internally, Chloe did some measurements. She didn’t actually know how long laundry generally took, but it was more than an hour, right? Two hours? More? She didn’t have her phone on hand, but it had to have been, like… 15 minutes by now, right?

Theoretically, Chloe had about three levels of products that she used on herself in the shower, but right now… She skimmed along the line, and… Possibly not today. She started washing the shampoo out.

So, if the time right now was… What time _was_ it? Chloe had lost track of things, especially with the unnatural midnight outside, but… it had to be about _7_ by now, right? Because Kagami had shown up around 5, and they’d danced until 6:30, and… Yeah. About 7.

So, even without the Akuma, it was getting on towards evening. If Ladybug put everything back, now, then it would still be dark outside.

_And Kagami’s ride might arrive when she had literally nothing to wear._

Chloe looked up, eyes widening, and started hurriedly rinsing off.

She still didn’t think that she’d be able to help Kagami find something better to wear, but right now, she was willing to take the odds that she could, because the worst case scenario had suddenly descended directly into hell and was now building a home there.

Of course, Kagami’s mother was blind, and she surely wouldn’t be in the car at the time, but there was no way she wouldn’t hear about it, right? She _paid attention_ to what was going on with Kagami.

_Kagami would potentially have to walk to her car in a skin-tight bodysuit._

Chloe _slammed_ the knob to the _off_ position, and yanked the curtain open in a clatter of metal rings. She grabbed out, and-

The towel was gone; Kagami had taken it earlier.

Chloe swore aloud, and started tiptoeing to the sink, where she knew the other towels were stored, dripping the whole way.

With slightly frantic motions, Chloe extracted another towel, and started rapidly drying herself off. She was still damp as she dropped the towel to put some clothes on, and her hair was frankly disgraceful, but if nothing else, she needed to make sure that the villain hadn’t been defeated in the meantime.

Muttering profanities, largely in reference to how stupid it had been to take a shower before making sure that Kagami was okay, Chloe pulled on her pants, ignoring the distasteful sensation of dry fabric on damp legs, and, barely pausing to zip them up, slipped on her shirt, not even bothering to put on the jacket that normally went with it.

She grabbed the towel again, in the largely vain hope of getting her hair at least _moderately_ dry, and pushed through the bathroom door.

The first thing she focused on was…

The windows were still pitch black.

The Akuma was still out there, and… Chloe had never been happy about that, before, but right now, she was practically ecstatic.

She pressed on, and stopped at her bedroom door.

“Kagami?” she called.

There was a pause, and then…

“I thought you were taking a shower.” The voice came was muffled; Kagami sounded like she was still in the closet.

“I was. I… I did. Did you find something you can wear?”

“I did, actually,” said Kagami, and Chloe looked up, as if trying to look _through_ the door.

“Oh! Oh. Well…”

A bit hesitantly, Chloe reached out for the doorknob, but… If Kagami had found something to wear, then surely that meant she _was_ wearing it, which meant she could go in.

Steeling herself, she tightened her grip, and prepared to-

The knob turned without her motion, and she barely had time to register it before the door was pulled open, pulling her with it.

She managed to let go, and-

\--

Chloe landed solidly against her, and, as one foot slipped back to keep her balance, Kagami’s right hand, the one that hadn’t been on the door, moved without thought to Chloe’s back.

Chloe was looking up at her in shock, and- _Cute._

Her eyes slowly slipped from Kagami’s face, and, as she looked down…

She inhaled, as if to speak, paused, and then said, “I haven’t seen those in years.”

“They’re very soft,” said Kagami.

…

_There was a box, or… a drawer, really, sitting beneath the hanging clothes, shoved into the corner of the room. It was shiny black plastic, and seemed like it was by far the cheapest thing in the room._

_Kagami frowned, and knelt._

_It was out of place. There were other boxes around, yes, but those… They didn’t look like this. They were clearly meant for shoes, or undergarments, or socks, or… something. This was something else._

_She pulled the drawer open, and… It was a shirt, folded up neatly, and as she looked beneath it, there was another shirt, similar to the first._

_More shirts, and these… Kagami looked up, and around the closet. There was plenty of free space for these, surely._

_She pulled one out and held it out in front of her._

_It was too small, even for Chloe, and probably out of style, from what Kagami had heard from Adrien. She pulled out another shirt, and compared the two. That one was similarly small, but again, slightly different._

_Below the first two shirts was another._

_Kagami shook her head in confusion._

_Three identical shirts, which was wrong, considering that this was Chloe._

_Or… Maybe more? How deep did it go?_

_Kagami silently lifted up the third shirt, and found a fourth, and then a fifth, and then…_

_“Oh,” she said aloud._

_At the bottom of the pile…_

_She reached into the drawer, and pulled._

_It was a soft pair of pants, and a matching shirt, both folded. They were a pale blue, and patterned with… Kagami squinted. Crowns?_

_There was a still a tag on them, which said…_

_“Princess pajama pants?”_

_She unfurled them, and…_

_These were… These were too big for Chloe. Frankly, they were probably almost too big for _her.

_The shirt, likewise, had a tag, which declared it the match of the pants._

_\--_

Chloe’s brain had apparently given up trying to decide when Kagami looked heartstopping, and had just decided that every new look was cause for a full on adrenal response, because…

“Y- Yeah,” she said, currently intimately acquainted with _exactly _how soft the clothes were.

“I have to ask, though,” said Kagami, “where did you get them?”

“Ah… Adrien. We were 8. He tried to give me a gift, but didn’t know what size ‘medium’ was.”

“He’s a fashion model.”

“He wasn’t back _then,” _said Chloe.

There was a moment of silence.

“So… Uh…” said Chloe, “I guess we just… run into each other… a lot.”

Kagami paused, seemingly surprised by the statement.

Chloe expected her to realize how unnecessarily close they were, and let go, but… Kagami didn’t move an inch.

“I suppose we do,” said Kagami, and she _smiled._

And Chloe… Chloe, for the second time in her life, was in a blooming garden under warm sunshine, and… She was horribly, terribly outmatched.

And she didn’t care.

“You know…” she said.

“Yes?”

“I can… I can think of worse people to… to run into.”

Kagami cocked her head, slightly, as gave Chloe a questioning look.

She laughed, seeming to find the answer she was looking for.

“So can I.”


	42. Chapter 42

For a moment, the words seemed to hang in the air, and Kagami… she looked down at the girl who had made it her singular goal to defeat her, and… For the first time, she felt truly scared.

Ice queen, unflinching, perfectly restrained… she was terrified.

Chloe hadn’t pulled away; she was less than a foot away, held in place only by a soft pressure on her back, but the remaining distance seemed to stretch out between them, and it tore at her.

Chloe looked up at her, eyes uncertain, and undefended. There was no anger in them, no hatred, and Kagami realized that all the terror in world didn’t matter anymore.

And it was stupid, and it was desperate, and it was… _utterly ridiculous,_ but she didn’t care. Her other arm came up, and wrapped around Chloe’s back and… She pulled.

And Chloe didn’t resist. Her cheek was pressed gently against Kagami’s neck, and she matched Kagami, motion for motion, and…

\--

Chloe didn’t know what had happened. She didn’t know how she’d gotten here. She didn’t know whether any of this was even real. But she knew that whatever she’d done to get here, she must have done it well, because her arms were wrapped around Kagami, and nothing else mattered.

She knew that she’d practically broken down over Kagami before, but this wasn’t that; this was… the opposite of that, because this time, Kagami herself was here, with her.

And Kagami… Her head twisted, and Chloe felt a gentle pressure against her still wet, untended hair, and Chloe knew she was dreaming, because Kagami would never have kissed her. They’d been enemies so long, and friends only so recently, and…

She was crying, now, and whether it was out of joy, or because she didn’t believe that this was real, she didn’t know. The world around her had ceased to matter, and she was hanging on to Kagami for her life.

\--

Chloe’s arms, still wrapped around her, tightened like a benediction, and Kagami’s fear slowly drained away, because Chloe was shaking, but she wasn’t pulling away, and-

Chloe returned the kiss, lightly pressing her lips against Kagami’s neck.

And Kagami… Kagami prided herself, and always had, on her self-control, and on the fact that she always knew who she was, and what she was doing, but that…

She felt her knees go weak, felt Chloe buckle under the weight, felt herself fracturing into pieces, and none of it mattered.

They sank to their knees, and, arms still wrapped tightly around her, Kagami let go.

\--

Chloe _felt_, more than heard, the sob that wracked Kagami’s body, and _knew_ that she’d done something horribly wrong.

Something she’d done; something had gone wrong, and Kagami was going to realize that… That…

But she wasn’t leaving.

_‘Are you okay?’_ she tried to ask, but the words came out a jumbled mess, and as she felt Kagami turn, she wished she’d kept her mouth shut, hadn’t said a word, because she’d disturbed whatever impossible equilibrium had-

Kagami pressed a kiss into her forehead, and Chloe felt the thrill in her stomach, sickeningly strong, but so… _perfect._

_Kagami was okay. She… She had to be, right?_

She tried to look up, and Kagami pulled back as she did, and…

Her eyes were gleaming, tears caught in her eyelashes, mouth slightly ajar, but twisting into a smile.

Kagami’s head bent forward, and her forehead knocked solidly, but not painfully, against Chloe’s, and…

_She was so close._ Chloe could feel the warmth of her breath, see the loose strand of still-damp hair hanging down in front of her eye, and… her eyes focused, and she realized there was a strand of gold mixed in with the black. Her own hair, unstyled, uncaptured, had fallen out of position, and fallen forward, hanging down even further than Kagami’s own.

Kagami had noticed it, too, staring with an expression that she couldn’t read, and her hand pulled away from Chloe’s back, and…

Chloe barely understood the sensation as Kagami’s thumb came to rest on her cheek. She closed her eyes, letting Kagami trace a line, up, and around the edge of her face, and… She felt the tickle as she caught ahold of the loose strand of hair. Her hand slid back, setting it back in place, and…

Chloe had been dancing since she was a child. She was intimately familiar with what it felt like to be led. There was a pressure, invisible from outside, and…

Something in the way Kagami’s hand slid back along her hair, and the way she just barely pulled back…

Chloe let her head be guided, trusting Kagami, even with her eyes still closed, and… For an instant, she stopped, feeling Kagami’s hand on the back of her head. There was a motion in the air in front of her, and Chloe knew that the thought was impossible and mad, and the certainty in her mind was a lie, and that if she opened her eyes, she’d be lying in her bed alone, but it felt like-

She shivered, her body registering the soft brush of Kagami’s lips against hers with all the subtlety of a lightning strike.

Her eyes opened, and she saw Kagami, pulled away. Her eyes were wide, and… She was scared.

Kagami was scared, and the thought alone felt like Chloe’s heart was breaking.

She deserved better. She deserved to know that she was safe, and… That she wasn’t alone, and…

There was a word for what Kagami was, right now, but Chloe had learned never to say it, and never to think it. She couldn’t tell Kagami that she… That she was…

_It was a question._

_What she’d felt… What Kagami had done… It had been a question._

The thought cut through everything else that had been running through her brain.

_She was still waiting for an answer._

Chloe leaned forward.

Maybe she couldn’t say a word. Maybe she didn’t even know the ones she meant to say, but she was _going_ to answer.

Terror was trying to grip at her, a thousand ways this could go wrong clawing for attention.

Chloe ignored them all, and stared at the only person who mattered right now.

_Damn the consequences._

_She kissed Kagami._


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's like they say. Practice makes perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact about the previous chapter, since I purposefully left everything blank: Did you know that crying functions as a way for the human body to let out emotions when it physically can't handle the quantity of emotion it's feeling?  
Also regarding the previous chapter: The payoff for the slow burn was theoretically meant to come later in the story, but I just outright couldn't hold off any longer. That said, no regrets; I think it came out pretty well.
> 
> Also, getting to this has been approximately 3 months, which I recognize is not the craziest time scale for a fic, but also, it's probably the longest I've worked on a single one.

Chloe knew, even as she made contact, that it wasn’t exactly a ‘good’ kiss. She was half an inch away from where she had meant to be, and her nose was poking into Kagami’s cheek, and Kagami’s mouth had been slightly ajar, which meant that-

She pulled away, feeling herself flush red in embarrassment as much as anything else.

And Kagami seemed to be in shock, probably from how _bad_ it had been, her eyes staring almost vacantly ahead, lips moving silently, as if she was trying to say something, but couldn’t quite make herself do it.

Then, she shifted, breath shaking slightly, and…

_“Again.”_

Chloe froze, and _stared._

_Again._

It had barely been a word, little more than a breath, and yet… It hadn’t felt like a request, exactly. It had been a command, and even though, in some hidden corner of her mind, Chloe knew that Kagami had no way of enforcing it… It didn’t matter.

She pressed forward, tried again.

She landed where she’d meant to, stayed longer, and… Kagami returned the motion.

A second passed, maybe two, and Chloe pulled away, slower, this time, not pulling quite so far away.

She barely had to wait.

_“Again.”_

And this time, the word came out whole, distorted by tears, and this time, though it was a command, it was a desperate one.

_Again._

_Again._

_Again._

Chloe didn’t count. She didn’t care how many times Kagami asked for another kiss. She was driven. She was persistent. Kagami hadn’t been able to grind her down when they’d been enemies, and she wouldn’t exhaust her now.

And… Maybe she wanted to give them, just as much as Kagami wanted to take them.

\--

Kagami had always prided herself on the fact that she never cried in front of other people, but her body had apparently decided to betray her today.

As she began to remember that she existed, and came back to herself, her breathing slowly calming, she found herself exhausted. Her eyes were burning, her arms, still wrapped around Chloe, ached.

“I guess I forgot how much of a perfectionist you are,” said Chloe, weakly.

Kagami paused, for a second, and then laughed, letting her head fall forward.

After a second, she groaned, pulling a hand back to wipe away her tears.

“I suppose I am,” she said, and then… It was a lie, but it was an honest lie. “Do you remember when we first started fencing?”

Chloe chuckled.

“Of course.”

“The first time, you just stood there, because you didn’t know how to start.”

“Yeah… I… I really didn’t.”

“Well…” she said, looking back up, letting the word hang. “Maybe I just want to make sure you’re never at a loss.”

Chloe laughed. “You’re… making sure I’m in _practice?”_

“I… Is that bad?”

Chloe looked down, as if considering the question, and, as she looked up… Her eyes were seemed almost unguarded

“Only if you don’t let me return the favor.”

“I can’t stop you.”

Chloe scoffed.

“Well then… Let’s see your skill, Kagami.”

“Of course, Chloe.”

\--

Some time had passed since then, and, in all truth, after the first minute or so, Chloe had been content just to stay there in Kagami’s arms. It was warm, there, and safe.

But, eventually, something started to infringe on her peace, and, eventually, she had to say something.

_“Are you hungry?”_

Kagami, who had gone quiet in the meantime, barely moved, and Chloe almost thought she hadn’t heard.

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

“Are you offering?”

Chloe snorted.

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t. I’m not gonna let you go hungry.”

“I appreciate that,” said Kagami, softly.

Chloe sighed.

“I guess that means we should get up.”

“I suppose so.”

And Chloe, with an effort, forced herself to let go.

She stood, stretching out, and-

Kagami’s leg moved a bit jerkily, as if it had fallen asleep.

Chloe reached down, and, Kagami taking her hand, she pulled her upright.

“Thank you.”

“Ha. Any time.”

There was a silence as Chloe carefully and deliberately stepped away.

“So…” said Kagami, “when you talk about _food…”_

Chloe sighed.

“Well… _Normally, _I’d go somewhere _interesting_ for dinner, but since we’re locked in…” she grumbled, slightly, “I’ve eaten _everything_ room service offers, and…”

She looked up, staring straight _through_ Kagami, for a moment.

What had she said, earlier?

“I have an idea,” she said, “follow me.”

And, pausing to make sure Kagami was onboard, she started for the door.

“And that idea is?” said Kagami, “or… Is it a surprise.”

Chloe considered, as she opened the door, and checked both ways.

“It would be a bad surprise,” she said, shaking her head. “There was a banquet scheduled for tonight, but if the fog came down before the guests arrived, then the food’s probably just sitting there. Faster than room service.”

“I see,” said Kagami, “I think you mentioned that, earlier. Wasn’t it in the one from New Year’s?”

Chloe nodded.

“Does that mean I should be getting ready to dance again?”

“I… I thought you were already tired from last time?”

“Not too tired to dance… With you.”

Chloe went red, and was suddenly glad that she was facing away from Kagami for the moment.

The words echoed through her mind, and after what had happened earlier, she should have been able to ignore them, but… no.

She called the elevator.

There was a long moment of silence, and the elevator _dinged,_ the door opening.

As they stepped in, and turned back to the door, Chloe reached out to take them to the next floor.

Beside her, Kagami looked idly to either side, and, as Chloe glanced down, her fingers were tapping lightly at her side. Her other hand was up, running through her hair, but this one was seemingly stuck in place…

She was close.

Chloe’s other hand was still by the buttons, as if preparing to take them to them somewhere else again if something went wrong, but this one…

As she stood there, the motion of her weight shifting happened, _entirely coincidentally,_ to let her knuckles brush against Kagami’s.

Kagami didn’t quite jump, but she shifted in a way that as much as said that she’d felt the contact.

Chloe glanced over.

Kagami glanced back.

They looked away, again.

A bit more silence, and…

Chloe looked up, but very deliberately didn’t look back, as Kagami’s hand darted out, and took hers.

And Chloe, for a second, was scared, because whoever was on this floor would probably never have seen her so much as _near_ someone like she was now, and the rumors would surely-

And then, Kagami’s grip tightened, slightly. And Chloe… Relaxed.

And what if they did?

She was Chloe Bourgeois, and what, exactly, did she have to be ashamed of? What rumor would they fabricate that she couldn’t handle?

Something about _her?_

Something about _Kagami?_

She tightened her own grip.

_She’d almost like to see them try._

The elevator dinged, and they stepped out.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Kagami are, whatever their wishes, the most interesting sight in the room.

Chloe’s grip was resolute as they walked down the hall, and somehow defiant, though that was far too much to garner simply from the way she kept her hand.

At the door, they paused for a second, and Chloe shifted to one side. She reached out, silently slipping the door open with her free hand. She was at the perfect angle to see inside without being seen.

There was a moment, as Chloe shifted side to side, obviously trying to scan across the room.

She laughed.

“Just a bunch of cooks and waiters.”

Kagami nodded.

_No event to interrupt._

_\--_

The hotel group-chat had died down significantly since earlier. When the fog had come down, there’d been a short pause as they waited for this to be instantly dispelled, and then someone had shared the Ladyblog post around, and it had rapidly become apparent that this might last for a while.

It had seemed like it was going to be a boring evening, despite the fact that someone had sent around an article about ridiculous real laws, and then…

Someone had asked if anyone knew where Chloe was, and, after some further questions, it had turned out that she’d been seen carrying laundry. Specifically, she’d brought down men’s formalwear, and women’s underwear, and specified that they’d needed cleaned _immediately._

That _had_ gotten a reaction, albeit one that was largely disbelief. It was… out of character, to say the least, and more to the point, completely inexplicable. For the next 20-some minutes, the chat had been alive with increasingly ridiculous theories, starting with some _extremely_ skeptical theories about Chloe being on a date, and ending with a rambling story wherein Chloe was a superspy who had been undercover as a man and needed to dispose of her disguise.

Still, eventually, the chat had quieted down as people had run out of original ideas. There had been a sort of generalized perking up, though, as one of the cleaning staff reported that he’d listened at her door, on the way through, and had heard _crying_ from the other side. But even that mostly resulted in confusion, since nobody had really been able to figure out how it all fit together.

By about that time, it became apparent that the banquet they’d been supposed to host wasn’t happening tonight, regardless of whether the fog dispersed now or later, and, being as the guests were all rich, they’d probably throw a fit if their food had been refrigerated, and… At this point, the entirety of the serving staff was gathered around one of the large tables, and they were helping themselves.

One of the chefs had pulled out her phone, and was just about to report to the others that some of the room service people were planning to come up and join them when…

She blinked, and turned, staring at the man in the seat across from her, who looked up from his phone.

Nobody else was checking the group chat right now, but _she_ had, and the messages had come across, from _his_ phone…

_‘Chloe’s in the ballroom.’_

_‘She’s not alone’_

For a second, he seemed confused that she was staring at him. She tapped her phone, and he seemed to understand. He nodded, seeming to indicate somewhere off behind her. Off near the tables with the food.

She looked down at her empty plate, glanced surreptitiously at the table, and silently stood up.

She walked as nonchalantly as she could, and… she tried, very carefully, to keep her eyes from widening.

The first thing was the hair; Chloe had a very specific color of hair, and this was that. It looked freshly washed, if she was any judge, and that alone was strange enough. Stranger, though, was the girl she was standing with.

She took in the appearance, and… wait… wait…

She’d read that article.

This was… What was her name? Kagami?

There’d been a whole thing in the tabloids, that even _she_, who never really read them, hadn’t been able to miss.

People had been skeptical that Chloe was on a date, but…

_They were holding hands._

Even as she realized it, they separated, each grabbing plates at the table, but for a second there, there had been no denying it.

The plot thickened, and from the way her phone was rumbling in her pocket, she wasn’t the only one paying attention. She could practically hear their 5th floor janitor getting revved up to talk about all the rumors about Chloe; he practically _breathed_ that kind of trashy magazine.

And Chloe hadn’t requested to be served… She hadn’t insisted someone come get her food for her, she hadn’t… Hmm…

_And Kagami was in pajamas._

The fact, glaringly obvious, had somehow eluded her, and, as she started scooping food onto her plate, she frowned.

A slumber party? Did Chloe even know what one of those _was?_ Hell, Kagami was apparently just as rich, and from a prestigious family; did _she_ even know?

Moving down the line, she glanced across again.

There was something in Chloe’s expression, like she was a gladiator, staring down her enemy in an arena, which… didn’t seem like the right face for grabbing dinner.

_Why had she gotten up? Her phone was shaking so hard it seemed like it was trying to get out of her pocket, and she couldn’t check it while she was up here._

She reached out, grabbed 3 rolls to fill up the empty space, and hurried back to her seat, already reaching up to her pocket.

\--

As they reached a point on the line where it seemed that both of them were satisfied with what was on their plates, they stepped back, and turned…

“So…” said Chloe, after a second, “where do you want to sit?”

Kagami nodded at one of the corners.

“You always try to keep your back to a wall.”

Chloe gave her a questioning look.

“They made certain I learned that,” said Kagami, shrugging.

“Is that, like… Because of assassins?”

“Probably. They didn’t tell me. Of course, in Paris, you’re more likely to have problems with an Akuma, but my mother doesn’t believe in running from enemies you know are coming.”

Chloe laughed. “What, would she fence it to death?”

“No.” said Kagami, and she let a trace of a smile creep onto her face “You don’t fence with a bokken.”

Chloe blinked. “Wait… You mean…”

She nodded. “She would.”

_“Isn’t she blind?”_

“It doesn’t stop her.”

They sat down next to each other.

Kagami started in on her plate, as Chloe sat next to her, perplexed.

“But… If she’s blind, how does she… _anything?”_

Kagami lightly tapped her fork down, and, after a second, shook her head.

“I don’t know. She never wears a helmet, though.”

“So… She _hears_ you?”

“Of course. She can hear how far I am, and of course, she knows my steps by the rhythm.”

“But couldn’t you just do one set of steps and attack _weird?_”

“I’ve tried. It never works. She’s been fighting since before she was my age, and she’s been blind the whole time. She was never used to seeing her opponents.”

Chloe shook her head, and jabbed a piece of chicken.

“That’s… Something.”

“Agreed.”

They lapsed into silence.

\--

A minute passed, maybe two, and Chloe was trying to eat her food without making the way she was eating it look weird, which, now that she was thinking about doing it, was peculiarly difficult.

“They’re watching us,” said Kagami, softly.

“What?”

“The serving staff,” said Kagami, “They’re trying to hide it, but they’re watching us.”

Chloe broke off trying to decide whether she should use her knife against the side tine of the fork, or through the two central ones, and glanced up.

For a second, she didn’t know what Kagami was talking about, but, as she looked closer… She could see the furtive glances, the conversations held in whispers despite the distance.

“I guess they are.”

“I wonder why,” said Kagami.

Chloe looked over at her.

“Kagami…”

“Yes?”

Chloe couldn’t quite tell if…

If…

She didn’t know what she saw, but there was some twitch in the way Kagami held her face.

_“_I have _no idea,” _she said, turning to face the front again.

“Utterly inexplicable,” agreed Kagami, and chuckled.

“I mean,” said Chloe, “what’s weird about me walking into a banquet that didn’t happen, with a girl nobody knew was going to be here.”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“And if she happens to be a renowned fencer, and in her pajamas… Well,” she scoffed, “they should have expected that.”

“_Yours.”_

“What?”

“I’m in_ your_ pajamas.”

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, and then closed it, blushing.

“Well… obviously. But _they_ don’t know that… They’re not exactly _my size._”

“No. No, they’re not.”

“If… If you want to _keep them…”_

“Maybe… Or… maybe I should leave them here.”

Chloe glanced sidelong at her.

Kagami looked back.

“I don’t like the idea of what I’d be wearing tonight if I hadn’t found them.”

“Well, _obviously _not,” said Chloe, and then… “You really think you’re going to end up trapped here that often?”

“I can hope.”

Chloe felt the heat rise in her face, and covered for it by taking another bite.

_She wanted to come back._ Well… _Obviously_ she did, or… it _should_ have been obvious, but there were corners of her mind where the certainty drained away like sand in a sieve.

“Well,” she said, after a few seconds, “you already know where it goes.”

“Yes.” 

They were silent for a while, in which time a handful of other employees showed up.

“Did you ever ask Adrien?”

“What?”

“Did you ever ask Adrien,” Kagami repeated, “about setting us up to fight.”

“…Did you?”

“I asked first.”

“I asked second.”

“You certainly did.”

“…I didn’t.”

“Didn’t ask second, or didn’t ask Adrien?”

“…Didn’t ask Adrien.”

“Why not?”

Chloe shrugged. “When would I have asked?”

Kagami gave her a _look_.

Chloe grimaced.

“I was worried.”

Looking slowly away, Kagami solemnly nodded.

“So was I.”

“You didn’t ask him either, then.”

“No.”

There was silence.

“I just…” Chloe looked around, as if expecting to see someone listening in, “We haven’t talked much… since he started school. We were always friends, but… Now he’s friends with a bunch of people who hate me.”

Kagami looked down, finger tapping lightly against the table.

“He talks about you,” she said eventually.

Chloe looked sharply over.

“Not often, and not since the two of us—" she gestured between the two of them, “—started fighting.”

“Really.”

Kagami nodded.

“He told me that you were his oldest friend, and… he wishes that he wasn’t your _only_ friend.”

Chloe scoffed, but the sound didn’t manage to be sincerely dismissive.

“Of course he did.”

“Maybe that’s why he suggested we fight.”

Chloe looked over, and Kagami shrugged.

“What, we were just going to fight it out and then be friends?” She scoffed. “That’s…” her expression twisted in confusion. “…What happened.”

“It certainly sounds more like Adrien than setting one of us up to win.”

“That’s… _ridiculous.”_

“Of course it is. It’s _Adrien.”_

Chloe laughed aloud.

“What, is he going to try to get me to start entering design contests against Marinette?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” said Kagami, shrugging. “He’s an idealist. Besides… It worked last time.”

“I suppose so.” said Chloe. “I mean… We’re not… _not_ friends.”

“Certainly not _not_ friends,” agreed Kagami.

Well… They were eating exquisitely cooked food, in Paris’ premier hotel, where there was every chance they’d stay the night.

That wasn’t something two people would do if they weren’t friends, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this means I'll get to write one of the scenes I've been waiting on for the past couple of chapters.  
That'll be nice.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a seemingly interminable evening, it seems like all the urgent, necessary stuff is finally out of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a chapter that's just, like... 90% fluff.  
It's always nice to get a bit of variety in a story, you know?

The door clicked shut behind them, and Kagami felt the tension drop from her shoulders.

She was used to people staring at her; when she was out with Adrien, someone was always pointing and staring, or taking pictures, and… Maybe it was that they’d been stuck in one place tonight, or that she’d had more time to prepare for it with Adrien. Maybe it was the fact that her mother, to the best of her knowledge, had no idea about this, might not even approve.

For a dreadful second, Kagami was struck by the certainty that she _did _know, and that…

No.

Her mother, for all her blindness didn’t blind her, couldn’t predict the future. She didn’t know, at least not yet.

­­­For tonight, at least, she’d be fine. She had clothes to wear, and her old clothes were washing. She was as far from hungry as one could reasonably hope to be, and she was with Chloe, away from prying eyes.

“So, how long do you think it’ll take them?” said Chloe.

“What?”

Chloe, significantly further into the room, turned back. “Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Kagami looked over at the window.

“Their latest was near midnight, wasn’t it?”

“No. Their _latest_ started _after_ midnight.”

“Hmm.”

Kagami took a second, considering the question. Chloe, meanwhile, seemed agitated.

“Do you think you’ll stay over?”

She looked up. “I suppose that depends.”

“On?”

“Whether my mother is awake to tell my driver to collect me, and whether he’s willing to listen.”

“And… How late will she be up?” said Chloe, reaching for her phone.

“Usually…” Kagami looked up at the clock. 8:06. “Usually, she’d be going to bed _now.” _She started pacing. “But if she intends to make certain I come home, she might stay up later. I’m sure if she wanted to, she could stay up all night.”

Chloe seemed unhappy with that answer, and Kagami shrugged.

“I doubt she will, though. She has as little idea when this fight will end as we do. At the latest, she might stay up until midnight.”

Chloe, who had halfway been pacing along with her, paused, nodding slowly.

She tapped something on her phone, and after a second, turned it to face Kagami.

3 hours, 53 minutes. A white circle surrounded the numbers, and as Kagami looked, a wafer of red, barely visible, had begun creeping around the edge.

“When this goes off,” said Chloe, crossing her arms as she fell back onto the couch, “regardless of what your mother says, when this goes off, you’re staying the night.”

Kagami laughed aloud. “And you have some way of enforcing that?”

“I’ll _find_ one.”

“I see. I hope, for your sake, that my mother is already asleep.”

There was a long silence, and Chloe uncrossed her arms, tapping at her phone again.

“And for my sake,” she added, sitting down beside her. She could see Chloe’s expression twist slightly.

Kagami glanced down at the phone, and saw a familiar background of red and black.

_“Hey guys, it’s your favorite Ladyblogger back at it with an evening update.” _Chloe seemed almost embarrassed to have the video open.

“Look, I’d just like to know what the chances are of that timer going off.”

Kagami chuckled, sliding a little closer. “So would I.”

Chloe seemed to notice the motion, and, giving her a _look,_ very carefully slid the opposite direction, her hip bumping into Kagami’s. It was like… Like she was returning a challenge.

“Just between the two of us,” said Chloe, as if she hadn’t done anything, “she’s probably better at this than _actual news stations.”_

Kagami nodded, solemnly.

“And when I say just between the two of us, I mean _just_ the two of us,” said Chloe, “if she heard that I’d said that, she’d never let me live it down.”

“She’s in your class, isn’t she?”

“Yup.”

_“…and while I’m still a little hazy on the how, it’s pretty obvious that they’ve found some way of fighting through the darkness, even if they’re moving pretty slowly.”_

“You seem to make a lot of enemies,” said Kagami, leaning just a bit to the side so her arm pressed up against Chloe’s.

“I’d say that they make _me_,” grumbled Chloe, “It’s hardly _my_ fault._”_

Alya pulled a map of Paris on screen and started pinning up places that Ladybug and Chat Noir had shown up, painting a picture towards where Grim Lantern supposedly was.

“I see.”

“_Some_how, she came to the conclusion that _I’m _the villain in _her_ story.”

“Did she have a reason?”

“She took my seat, and when I told her to get out of it, apparently she decided it was worth holding a grudge over.” Chloe rolled her eyes, “I didn’t even manage to get it back _anyway,_ so I don’t see what she’s still mad about.”

“Hmm.”

“She… _what is it she says?_” Chloe mouthed something to herself, and scoffed “_’All that’s necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.’”_

“Majestia.”

“What?”

“It’s a quote. From a comic.”

Chloe gave her a _look._

Kagami shrugged. “Adrien reads it too. He made me read a few issues of it.” She paused. “Actually, he might have started reading it because of Alya.”

“Well,” said Chloe, “whatever. The point is, she thinks I’m evil, just because I know what I want and I’m not afraid to go for it.”

“And what _do_ you want?”

“I _want,”_ said Chloe, “for people to know that I’m in charge.”

“Power.”

“What?”

“You want power,” said Kagami. “Why?”

Chloe blinked at her. She looked away.

“Chloe?”

“Because _nobody_ gets to control _me. Nobody_ tells me what to do.” Her expression, momentarily fierce, shifted, and she sighed. “That’s why I was fighting you in the first place.”

“Because I told you what to do.”

“Yeah… Because you told me what to do.”

“What was it, again?”

“’Don’t ever touch me again, don’t ever talk to me again, don’t ever look at me again,’” said Chloe, the words coming as easily as if she’d memorized them.

Kagami laughed, letting her hand slip into Chloe’s. “Well, I suppose you’ve showed me.”

Chloe looked over at her, their eyes meeting.

“I suppose I have,” she said, and leaned in.

_Practice really did make perfect._

Slowly, after a moment, Chloe pulled away, face as red as Kagami’s must have been, and clearly just as pleased.

“Maybe I should try telling you to do something else,” said Kagami.

“Hah!”

There was a moment of silence, and Chloe’s face slowly shifted again. She looked down.

The silence stretched out, or… it would have, had Alya not started in on a selection of recent descriptions that people had sent in. Still, it wasn’t like either of them was listening to her at this point.

“I’d probably do it.”

From anyone else, it would have been a simple statement of fact, but from Chloe…

Kagami felt the buzz in her chest, and it was momentarily difficult to find the words she was looking for.

_“So would I.”_

Chloe looked up again.

_“For you.”_

Chloe’s face was unreadable, and then…

“That’s ridiculous,” she said, but the words were soft, more disbelieving than mocking.

“Mm?”

“You can’t… You can’t just have… two people who can _both_ tell the other one what to do.”

“Then… I _won’t_ tell you what to do.”

Chloe grimaced.

“Is that a problem?”

“I…” Chloe retracted her hand, looking down. “Maybe?”

Kagami waited.

“I didn’t win. You gave up, and you said I did, but _I didn’t._” She looked at Kagami as if expecting light to dawn.

It didn’t.

“So…” she said, “How am I supposed to be the one telling _you_ what to do? That’s not… It doesn’t _work_ like that.”

“I didn’t win either.”

That gave her pause.

“Well… I didn’t exactly see you _losing.”_

“No, I suppose not.”

Kagami tapped at her side, her hand feeling oddly vacant without Chloe’s.

“Then I guess we’re in a stalemate.”

Chloe huffed a laugh.

“I guess we are.”

“Well, I can think of…” The words _‘worse people’_ died on her lips.

“No,” she said, and Chloe looked up at her.

_“I’m glad to be in a stalemate with you, Chloe,”_ she said, setting all of her resolve towards making sure the words came out properly.

And Chloe… for a second, her expression was blank, as if the words hadn’t even registered with her. Then, she sighed, and her hand returned to Kagami’s.

“You’ll never win.”

“No… I suppose I won’t. And I suppose this means you haven’t earned the right to tell me what to do.”

“Well… I can’t have everything.”

“Have you tried asking?”

Chloe raised her eyebrows.

She shrugged. “If I concede ground, then that’s my own fault for making a poor decision.”

Chloe laughed, in clearly genuine amusement_, _froze, visibly mortified, and rallied herself. “Well, I might need to, because for all the _amazing_ things about me, _I’ve_ never been the best at making good decisions _either.”_

“I agree.”

“Oh?”

Kagami, with the careful motion of a falling tree, _leaned._

“You should have picked on someone your own size,” she said, as Chloe, her own balance mitigated by the fact that she was sitting, fell back under her weight.

“And here _I_ was, expecting a tense standoff,” said Chloe, wiggling around as if trying to shift her weight.

Kagami giggled. “You’ll get your tense standoff when you don’t give me an easy opening.”

Chloe gasped, in mock offense. _“Kagami! _Are you taking advantage of my trust?”

“Of course.”

“Well that’s _completely_ unacceptable,” said Chloe, and, in a single motion, shockingly graceful given her circumstances, she twisted, and Kagami found herself wrapped up in Chloe’s arms, her back in Chloe’s chest.

“I’ll just have to keep you locked up until you’ve learned your lesson,” said Chloe, her voice soft, and slightly strained, in Kagami’s ear.

“Oh dear…” said Kagami, trying to keep her voice deadpan, and only mostly succeeding. “I seem to have been captured. How unfortunate.”

Chloe stifled a laugh, but Kagami could still feel it through her whole body.

“It might be impossible to escape,” she said, reaching up her hand. “Or it could take days, maybe even weeks.

From the pressure on her lower ribs, she managed to find Chloe’s hand, gently running her thumb along the back of it.

That seemed to make Chloe hesitate, halting whatever she might have been about to say. Her own fingers twitched, sliding, almost agitated, across Kagami's ribs.

“Is this... meant to be a bribe?” said Chloe.

Kagami considered the question, but her hand didn't leave Chloe's.

“Would it work?”

She didn’t say a word, but Kagami felt her head shift, and after a second, Chloe placed a kiss just above her jaw, probably the only place she’d been able to reach.

“From you…” she said, so close that Kagami could feel the warmth as she spoke, “I'd consider it.”


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The evening slips gently by.

_They stayed there, for a long, long time, letting the tension that had been building between them for who knew how long drain away. The warmth where they were pressed together was uncomfortable by this point, but the idea of pulling away was practically unthinkable. The video from the Ladyblog had long since finished, and neither of them had made a move to start something else._

_The minutes slipped by._

_\--_

After an interminable, peaceful time, where Kagami had almost fallen asleep, she felt Chloe’s hand reach out, patting along the couch, clearly searching for something.

She turned her head, cheek brushing along Chloe’s, and saw her face go suddenly sheepish as it came into view.

“Can I help you?”

“I… Wanted to check the time. On my phone.”

“Of course,” she said, and…

She turned her head back, scanned down, and, after a second, frowned. She shifted her weight, trying to find something irregular beneath her, and… Ah. Well, it had landed just beneath her shoulder, which, considering Chloe’s position and angle… Probably for the best that _Kagami_ was the one reaching for it.

Chloe’s hand opened, and Kagami neatly slotted the phone into it.

There was a moment of stillness, then… Under Kagami’s shoulder, right next to where the phone had been, in fact, Chloe tried to slide her arm into a better position to meet up with her other hand, and… All she managed to do was slide it deeper _under_ her, and probably cut off circulation.

“Hmm…” grumbled Chloe.

Kagami, seeing the issue, brought her own hand up, holding the now horizontal phone in place.

“Hm,” said Chloe, pleased.

She slipped her hand around, and clicked the power button, bringing up…

“8:47,” Kagami said aloud.

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“I… Thought it had been longer.”

Kagami turned her head again.

“How long did you think it had been?”

“Well… I thought I’d fallen asleep…”

“I see.”

They lapsed into silence.

“So… Now what?”

Kagami considered the question.

“As in… Tonight? Or… As in, after what happened today?”

“I…” Chloe sighed. “As in tonight?”

“Of course.” The question of tomorrow seemed a bit out of reach for _both_ of them, at the moment.

“I mean—” Chloe said, her arms tightening slightly, as if worried that Kagami would try to leave, “It’s not like I’m complaining, about… This…” There was a long silence. “But I never go to bed this early.”

“Well, what would you be doing, if I _wasn’t _here?”

“I mean, _obviously _I keep up to date on celebrities and gossip,” said Chloe, “but…” she sighed. “that’s something you do alone. I… I _could_ go do that, and let you do whatever you want to do…” She trailed off.

The point was left to hang in the air.

“Do you have anything you can do in a group of two?”

“Well, _obviously_ I have a spare foil,” said Chloe, “but you don’t.”

“And neither of us has safety gear.”

“Right. I… I don’t know whether I can even _handle_ dancing tonight, after everything that’s happened.”

“I’m sure I could find the energy, if you wanted to,” said Kagami, “but you’re right. My legs haven’t recovered from earlier.”

“Which means no 10 P.M. yoga, either…”

Kagami gave her a questioning look.

Chloe just looked at her, and shook her head. “I wasn’t going to do it tonight anyway.”

They fell into the silence of two people trying to solve a problem with no obvious answers.

Then, after a while…

“Well…” said Chloe.

“Yes?”

She paused, and shook her head. “Nothing. It’s a stupid idea.”

“Oh?”

“No…”

“Does it have something to do with that chest under your bed?”

Certainly, that had been where _Kagami’s_ brain had been going; there were two costumes, two superheroes… She didn’t know exactly what purpose they were generally put to, but they didn’t seem to be there for the purpose of some serious business.

There was a long silence. Chloe seemed… Embarrassed?

“Should I go put on the Ladybug outfit?”

Chloe made a noise like she was choking.

“Aahhcg, uh… I- Well-“ Chloe finally seemed to find _something_ coherent to say, her next words coming out fast and tight. “_I_ always wear the Ladybug outfit.”

“Oh, I see. Then the Chat Noir outfit.”

“No!” came the strangled response. “Absolutely not!”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Chloe didn’t seem to have a response for that, and, as Kagami turned, she saw that her face had turned a burning red.

Chloe eyes scanned across her face, and… She paused for an instant, looking almost at the top of Kagami’s head, before her face twisted into _deeper_ embarrassment.

Mentally, Kagami tried to unravel the reaction before… Ah. Chloe had probably been into fashion long enough to know what an outfit would look like on someone.

“Is it not my style?”

“Ahh…”

That didn’t seem to be a yes. Nor, for that matter, a no. Kagami turned her neck a bit more to get a look at Chloe’s expression.

After a bit, Chloe eventually settled down.

“So…” she said, “if not the suits, then what?”

“Well,” said Chloe, audibly abashed, “I wasn’t… _Actually_ thinking about them, in the first place, or… Well, I thought they were _even dumber_ than the idea that I was thinking about suggesting..”

“I see.”

There was a long, long silence, and Kagami could practically _hear_ Chloe’s mind churning away behind her.

She waited.

Finally, after what had to have been 30 seconds at least, Chloe finally spoke.

“Have you ever heard of a game called… Super Penguino?”

Kagami blinked.

“I believe I’ve heard the name.”

“Right. Do you know what it is?”

“No.”

Chloe sighed.

“It’s… A game. You play it on your phone.”

“I had assumed.”

“_Yeah. _It’s…” Chloe sighed in annoyance. “It’s a _baby game.”_

“Oh?”

“It’s… It’s stupid, and childish, and… and _really hard.”_

“I see. How do you play.”

“You… You know what, I’ll show you. Just… Sit up?”

Kagami nodded, shifting her weight off Chloe’s arm, and they slowly slid upright. They were still close together, to the point that Chloe’s arm passed under Kagami’s as she reached out to her phone.

Despite having a home screen with a fair selection of apps, and some space remaining, Chloe went into her apps search bar, and looked up ‘utilities.’ A folder popped up, which, in the instant Kagami had a chance to look at it, did indeed seem to contain utilities, settings and the like. And, as she clicked into it, it seemed, in fact, to be… She slid to the next page of the folder, and there, sitting alone on the screen, was an app, whose icon was just a small, cartoonish penguin. The title beneath it just read ‘SP.’

She felt Chloe’s head shift next to her, almost _daring_ her to say a word about her storage method.

Kagami _didn’t_ say anything,

_‘SS Studios,’_ proclaimed the loading screen, with a short, glittery jingle, _‘Obvious simplicity, deep complexity™’_

Then, there was the sound of sleigh bells, and the title came up, in bold, blocky letters, followed by a tinkly melody. On the screen, a penguin ran, or, more accurately, waddled, at high speed across a sheet of ice, glaciers passing by in the background.

Chloe tapped the play button, and the screen went black.

‘3 lives,’ showed the screen, and then the level faded in.

A few seconds passed, as Chloe ran forward, moving horizontally with one hand, and jumping with the other, climbing up a few conveniently placed platforms.

“The first levels are _way_ easier alone,” she said, by way of explanation, “and I don’t think you can even _die_ on the first one, unless you time out.”

“A tutorial, then.”

“Yeah. The second one’s basically pointless too.”

“Naturally.”

“The _third_ one is where things start to get bad.”

“Oh?”

“Well,” said Chloe, clearing the first level, the number of lives ticking up by two, for collecting the coins and completing the level respectively, “this game…” she sighed again. “The _description_ says that it’s a ‘brain training’ game for children, but I don’t know what _children_ they tested it on, because it’s _awful._”

“Children are often awful.”

“I mean…! They start to change the controls,” Chloe said, making the first few jumps with actual stakes. “Level three switches the jump and move controls.”

Kagami nodded, slowly.

“Then, level four, every time you cross a red line, they switch _again.”_

Kagami nodded, slowly beginning to get the picture.

“On level five, going left goes right, and going right goes left, then 6 adds the red lines again. And the _platforming_ just gets _harder_.”

“I see…”

She cleared the level, and, indeed, the jump and move buttons did seem to be reversed.

“So…” said Kagami, “if it’s so hard, why is it embarrassing to play it? Anyone who knows about it should know that it’s not a ‘baby game,’ right?”

“Yeah… Well… The problem is,” said Chloe, biting the inside of her lips, “it’s a lot easier with two players.”

“Oh?”

“Level 13 is basically impossible alone, because by that point, there’s no ‘jump button,’ because each set of controls both moves _and_ jumps, _and_ you’ve got to do the same thing on both to do _anything_, and the directions are backwards. You don’t even fall into the water, you just time out.”

Kagami nodded, solemnly.

“How many levels does it go to?”

Chloe shrugged. “Nobody’s beaten it.”

“And it doesn’t tell you?”

“Of course it—" Chloe let out an exasperated gasp, as she held the wrong button through a red line, and took her first death. “Doesn’t. That would be too easy.”

A moment of silence passed, as Kagami watched her take another swing at the level.

“I still fail to see why the two players thing is an issue.”

“Because…” Chloe paused, audibly disgruntled. “Look. The highest score I’ve heard of is Alya and Nino. They made it to level 29. Rose and Juleka got to 26.”

“Okay.”

There was a second, as Chloe seemed to be trying to let the thought sink in.

Kagami didn’t see what it was supposed to accomplish.

“So… The point is…” A long second passed. “Everybody says it’s a couples’ game.”

There was a long silence.

“I see.”

“And… Well. I didn’t want to have to explain that to you, but if I didn’t, you wouldn’t know… how strongly people would take it.”

“Oh.”

“And I didn’t want to think about that… Not for tonight, at least.”

There was a long silence, at that.

Chloe stared at the screen, with the expression of someone _resolutely_ not looking away. Her expression seemed… worried? Agitated, maybe?

_Did Chloe really think she’d be angry at her for that?_

“How about over a round of fencing, then?”

Chloe glanced away from the screen, for an instant. “_No!” _she said, and, as the death screen came up, she shook her head. “No, I mean… Yeah… That might work.”

“Okay then. Maybe next week, or… The week after that, if you want.”

“That… That sounds good.”

Kagami carefully extracted her arm from where it was linked with Chloe’s, and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her in until Chloe’s head was rested neatly against her shoulder.

Chloe let out a sigh. “Thanks, Kagami.”

“Of course.” She let a second go by, and then, unable to resist, “Now, will you be dying shortly, or should I be getting this app for myself?”

That seemed to perk Chloe up. “Oh, you don’t have to wait for me to die, as long as you know what your side of the controls does.”

Chloe seemed to notice her surprise.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, “just as long as I don’t have to think about it.”

“I see… are you challenging me to distract you?”

Chloe looked down, seeming to earnestly consider the question.

“No. The only challenge right now is this _stupid game_,” she nodded at the screen. “I fully expect to be so frustrated after half an hour that I don’t have the presence of mind to _think _about what anyone else would say if they saw us playing it.”

“Mm…” said Kagami, cracking her knuckles. “I don’t think you’ll be frustrated in the slightest.”

“Oh?”

“No, because this time, you’ve got _me _on your side.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; in a story that spans about half a year, one night took up a full quarter of the chapters, and, more to the point, just under a third of the word count. That said, I think that's the last we'll directly see of this night. More to the point, after everything it took to get here, this story's almost over. I think... Maybe one more chapter, just to wrap things up.
> 
> That said, I've got like 3k words of unused content that didn't fit into the story, so I could compile them all in order (currently they're backwards) and add them as a bonus chapter. So, if anybody's interested, maybe two more chapters.


	47. Chapter 47

The rest of the night passed by as peacefully as one could have hoped for two girls playing a brutally difficult game. Around 10:30, as Chloe had requested, Kagami’s clothes returned, the formalwear still hot from the drier, and the unfortunate fool who’d brought it up had had the misfortune of interrupting them during level 16, causing them to lose one of their last 5 lives. Kagami had somehow managed to look _supernaturally_ threatening while wearing a set of loose, silk pajamas, and Chloe’s expression would have been deadly enough, even _without_ the fact that there had been what had amounted to a _roar_ of fury as he’d knocked on the door in the first place.

By the time they’d fallen asleep, at 12:30, their eyes had been red and bleary, but neither of them had wanted to admit that level 19 had them stumped, what with the double-penguins with the independently switching jumps and controls, and the addition of a set of diabolical terrain types that, much like the cyan and magenta lines, rotated whatever set of controls you were using when you stepped on them by 90 degrees.

Kagami had fallen asleep midway through one of the earlier levels, and Chloe hadn’t even had the presence of mind to wake her up before falling asleep, and collapsing against her.

When Kagami woke up, it was to a brand-new day. Chloe was draped across her, cheek pressed into her chest, snoring loudly, and drooling water damage into the her silk. The sun was shining through the window, and everything was alright.

Chloe, for her part, would later deny both the snoring and the drooling, but not the overwhelming sense of peace she’d felt as she’d woken up.

…

As both of them should have expected from their track record, ‘next week’ rapidly became ‘next month,’ and by the time Chloe (and, though she hadn’t been the one asking for time, Kagami) managed to build up her courage enough to say aloud that the word for what they were might, in fact, be ‘together,’ there had already been plenty of drama.

The first thing, of course, was that the hotel staff, with the lack of discretion characteristic of large groups of people, had leaked the pictures of the two of them sitting there, and they had both enjoyed a significant resurgence of paparazzi. In point of fact, Chloe hadn’t even been _able_ to go fence with Kagami the next week, since Kagami had made it perfectly clear that the house was being watched, in hopes of the next big break showing up. Chloe had gotten a few awkward questions about it on the street, but had answered with her characteristic arrogance, and had successfully avoided answering _anything._

Their classmates, of course, had been… Well, Kagami had barely noticed any difference, since nobody really talked to her in class anyway. Chloe, meanwhile, had Rose to contend with, which had been a bit of an issue, since Rose had been _paying attention,_ and didn’t have much volume control. That said, past a certain point, she was essentially unintelligible due to the sheer _pitch_ her voice reached. Adrien, for his part, had seemed… Well, Chloe wasn’t exactly familiar with the expression when it was on somebody else’s behalf, but he seemed to be _proud_ of her, and Kagami too, for that matter.

Marinette had been… Dubious, more than anything, but she hadn’t said a word about it; just how Chloe liked it.

It had been a full month later, when the paparazzi had given up on them as the hot-button topic of the moment, when Kagami had returned for another dance lesson. They had come face to face with _Audrey Bourgeois_, of all people, who had stared at them, as if trying to make sure that one of the girls she was looking at was, in fact, her daughter. She had walked away without saying anything.

Neither of them had known how to take that, until she’d barged into Chloe’s room that night, apparently having done some digging, (which was to say, she’d asked her husband) and had informed Chloe that she ‘wanted that girl _seduced_ by the end of the _week_,’ which… Chloe didn’t know how exactly to feel about that.

Kagami, meanwhile, had gotten a very calm, very collected conversation from her mother about where Adrien fell in this whole equation, which had seemed to end with her accepting that this had perhaps been _more_ Adrien’s idea than Kagami’s. There had also been a warning that the choices she was making could very well make her future more difficult, due to the particular opinions of many of the people her mother currently worked with (and who would, presumably, work with Kagami in the future), and was she willing to take on those challenges?

They had fought in silence for the better part of ten minutes, before Kagami had replied, with a simple ‘yes.’ And that had been the end of the conversation.

\--

It had been two years, give or take, and sun was warm overhead.

Hawkmoth had been defeated, but, of course, it was never that simple; like petty crime after a mob boss is locked away, new villains seemed to appear in the city every day, the source of their dubious powers as uncertain as the reason they would live in _any_ city protected by Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The two of them were sitting on a park bench, for once seemingly unremarkable to the rest of the world. In front of them, people were doing park things; a pair of families were holding a picnic in a corner of the park, and there was a group tossing a frisbee between themselves, and, of course, people just walking.

“I’m bored,” said Chloe, eventually.

“Oh?”

“I’m bored,” she repeated, in the tone of one who had no further explanation.

Kagami laughed.

“Well, what do you want to do, then?”

“I…” Chloe fell silent again, looking down, visibly annoyed.

Kagami let the silence stretch out.

She glanced over, and couldn’t help giving her girlfriend _(it had taken her months to be able to even _think_ the word properly, let alone say it), _a soft smile. “Well…” she said, “I’m sure there’s _something_ we can do that I haven’t already defeated you in.”

Chloe barked a laugh.

“Yeah, right, more like you’re sure there’s something you can scrape out of the bottom of the barrel where you’ll have a _chance.”_

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Kagami, “I didn’t realize you wanted to go back to the archery range.”

_“That’s not fair,”_ said Chloe, sharply, _“you had practice.”_

“And whose fault is it that you didn’t know?”

_“Yours,”_ they said simultaneously.

There was a moment of silence and then… there was a moment of carefully restrained giggling.

As they quieted, Chloe shook her head. “Okay, fine, whatever, maybe you’ll have a chance at whatever, but like… We’ve been sitting here for half an hour.”

“And _that’s_ why I’ve been saying you should try meditation again.”

“Ha!” said Chloe, “You know what’s even _more_ boring than sitting in one place for half an hour? Sitting in one place, for a half an hour, and purposefully thinking about _nothing.”_

“You do that for hours on end every night, Chloe, and you seem to enjoy that well enough.”

“_Exactly. _Why do I need _more?_”

Kagami rolled her eyes.

“Since when do you preach moderation?”

“Since I found something boring enough to make it sound like a good idea.”

Kagami sighed, crossing her arms in front of her, and there was silence.

Eventually, though, she found a smile playing at the edge of her lips.

\--

“Maybe you were doing it wrong,” suggested Kagami, and by the expression she wore, Chloe had a feeling she knew what was coming.

“I see.”

“Maybe I should come along next time… I could offer you advice.” Her voice had dropped down, almost soft enough that it was inaudible, and it was all the more… _unnerving_ for that.

“_I know what you’re doing, Kagami_,” she said, trying and failing to steel herself.

Kagami chuckled, and continued, undaunted. “Your heartrate’s supposed to drop significantly,” she said, leaning in, just a bit, taking Chloe’s wrist, and pressing her thumb into it. “And… Well… There’s your first problem. Your heart’s beating far too fast.”

Her face was going red, now.

_“I’m going to get you back for this.”_

Kagami smiled easily. “I look forward to it.”

By now, Chloe knew from experience that she was entirely capable of shattering Kagami’s cool façade with a bit of time and effort, and with a provocation like this, she certainly would… Unfortunately, right now, she had neither time, nor the presence of mind to muster _effort, _so that didn’t really help her.

Surprisingly, what _did_ help her was the sound of shouting from behind them, and as the first wave of civilians ran past them, away from whatever villain had put a nefarious scheme into action, Chloe found the perfect cue to jolt herself up and out of her seat.

“Well,” she said, grinning triumphantly, now, “I think we’ll have to set this aside for the moment. Better luck next time,” and so saying, she turned away. _“Buzz on.”_

\--

“See you in a bit, _Kagamikins,”_ said Queen Bee, blowing her a kiss.

Kagami rolled her eyes, and waited a carefully counted span of time to keep it from being obvious that she was about to follow after her.

1…

2…

3.

She stood up, and started walking briskly towards somewhere a bit more secluded to transform; Chloe had the dubious fortune of being the only hero in Paris without a secret identity… As for her… Well, suffice to say she’d had more than one fresh villain try to take her hostage, which hadn’t exactly been ideal, even if they’d invariably ended up paralyzed on the floor.

She wouldn’t have traded it for anything, though; her mother had asked her whether she was willing to deal with the challenges that would guaranteeably come with this relationship, and she’d meant what she’d said.

Of course, at the time, she’d wondered who exactly would be able to offer her a challenge, with Chloe beside her. She hadn’t expected the answer to be supervillains, but she was nothing if not determined; it would take more than that.

She made it to a perfectly secluded alleyway, close enough to the fresh attack that the ordinary civilians would have long since cleared out.

She sighed, fingers gently tapping at the choker around her neck.

Now… with any luck, she’d arrive before Chloe finished the fight.

“Longg,” she said, “Bring the storm.”

\--

The fact of the matter was that they were never going to get along perfectly, two personalities that strong never did, but as the world around them rapidly learned, however often Chloe might call Kagami stuck-up and emotionless, and however often Kagami might suggest that Chloe was abrasive and arrogant, the worst choice an onlooker could make was to agree with either statement. And the fact of the matter was that even by the time that first summer had rolled around, neither statement was as true as it had been at the start of the year.

A sufficiently dedicated observer would, no doubt, have noticed a great many things, more, even, than the two of them would remember later. Little tics in the way Kagami laughed, something in the way Chloe stood. A particularly dedicated _conspiracy_ _theorist_ might even have found something interesting in the way that, midway through the first time they’d fought together, Ryuko had insulted Queen Bee’s costume, and she’d stopped _dead. _There might have been a little bit of yarn connecting that moment to the fact that from that moment forth, even though they seemed to be in a constant rush to outdo each other, it seemed like they never needed to say a word to know what the other was about to do.

What it came down to, what everyone eventually noticed, in costume or out, was that every jab, whether a sharp word between them, or a combined assault on a villain, seemed intricately choreographed, somewhere between a pitched battle and an elegant dance.

And, sometimes, very rarely, Kagami would give her a familiar set of instructions…

_Don’t ever touch me again._

_Don’t ever speak to me again._

_Don’t ever look at me again._

And… well, suffice to say that some things didn’t change; Chloe had never gotten the hang of following orders, and however hard she tried, it seemed like it was never more than a few minutes before she failed step one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (And Two (And Three))
> 
> Alright, everybody, that's the end! Thank you all for reading, and if you've made it this far, I sure hope you were enjoying yourselves along the way.  
This story, of all the ones I've written thus far, took the most out of me to write, but I sure did write it.
> 
> Final notes, as usual:   
Firstly, I have to admit, I think there's a lot more story to explore here, but you'll probably have better luck writing that part of it yourself, because I think I'm gonna be tapped out on this fic's world for a good long while. (No, seriously, if y'all have a scene you want to put in here somewhere, this is fanfiction; reality can be whatever you want it to be)  
Secondly, this is usually the place where I'd recommend one of my other fics for if you guys enjoyed this one, but if I'm honest, I don't think I have one that quite matches it; this is my first enemies-friends-lovers fic. (Simultaneously my first non-lovesquare, and a completely new fic archetype. Bit of a double-whammy there)  
Thirdly, I should mention, as I did at the end of last chapter, that I have a whole bunch of deleted scenes, so if y'all want a bonus chapter with like 2.7k of deleted scenes, lemme know, and I can reverse the order on them and release them for your reading pleasure.
> 
> And, as always, if you've made it this far, thank you so much; this pairing is obviously much less written and read than lovesquare content, so those of you that still showed up and read along mean a great deal. Special thanks go out to my most reliable commenters, including BenRG, GhostlyHamburger, and FlowersandSunshine, who have, through their combined efforts, generated 2 in-universe usernames, and a line that actually appears in this chapter, and, moreover, have provided the necessary engagement that has kept me writing. Y'all're great.
> 
> And, likewise, I'd like to thank literally everybody who has made it this far, one more time, because as much as they say to write for yourself, it's very gratifying to know that what you write is being read.
> 
> -The End (of this fic ('s official content))


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